Groups call on architects of new framework programme to “reduce administrative load and bureaucracy”
Medical academy groups have called for the EU’s next research and innovation programme to have a “reduced administrative load” for applicants.
After hosting a joint workshop on the topic, the Federation of European Academies of Medicine and the UK Academy of Medical Sciences released guidance on 24 September for the design of Framework Programme 10, which is due to start in 2028.
The report says that reduced bureaucracy in FP10 and “ensuring the size and scale of consortia is conducive to collaborative working” in relevant parts of the programme would be a catalyst for “unblocking” its potential.
Bureaucratic burden
Some workshop attendees expressed “concerns that excellent scientists are dissuaded from applying for Pillar 2” of the current EU R&I programme, Horizon Europe.
This part of the programme—which is the largest of the three main pillars in terms of its funding allocation—is focused on societal challenges and industrial competitiveness and funds collaborative research through ‘clusters’ focused on themes including health.
Researchers are particularly being put off applying to Pillar 2 as the lead in a consortium, “due to the current bureaucratic challenges and low success rates”, the report says.
This part of the programme would benefit from “reducing the perceived bureaucratic burden and enhancing the user-friendliness” of the application process, it says, as well as from increased opportunities for more basic research.
“There was agreement that Pillar 2…would significantly benefit from further simplification, with room for collaborative Research Actions (in addition to Research and Innovation Actions and/or Innovation Actions),” the report says.
“Making room for more discovery-driven calls and topics within the challenge-led structure would help facilitate and validate a more simplified approach.”
Funding prioritisation
The report also calls for the overall budget of FP10 to be ringfenced and for an increased allocation to its equivalent of Pillar 1, which funds basic research through the European Research Council and other instruments.
In addition, the academies want a new “specific, heavily funded” innovation budget to help drive the translation of basic research.
“While the European Innovation Council is a first step, funding needs to be significantly increased,” the report says, referring to a part of Horizon Europe created in 2021.
Some workshops attendees pointed out that high-quality projects have often gone “unfunded” in Horizon Europe due to budget shortages and said that, compared with the US and China, the application of research in the pursuit of socioeconomic benefits is also underfunded.
“Maximising the use of existing and new instruments of funding is essential to ensure optimal utilisation,” the report says.
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