FP10 position papers: the next Framework Programme for Research & Innovation

As we are in the middle of Horizon Europe, the biggest EU research and innovation programme so far, position papers on its successor, Framework Programme No. 10 (FP10), are starting to circulate around the EU bubble.

Take a look at what EU member countries, research organizations, and other stakeholders propose.

ALLEA Turns 30 and Elects New President: Paweł Rowiński of Institute of Geophysics PAS

The General Assembly of ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, convened in Berlin to commemorate its 30th anniversary and inaugurate a new president and board. Paweł Rowiński assumed the role of the organisation’s eighth president, taking over from Antonio Loprieno, who led ALLEA from 2018 onwards. Additionally, the assembly welcomed three young academies as new members thereby expanding ALLEA’s total membership to 59.

Berlin, 22 May 2024. Around 70 delegates from across Europe gathered in Berlin on 22 May for the 2024 ALLEA General Assembly, co-hosted by the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities, and the German Young Academy. The event stood as a milestone in ALLEA’s history, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the organisation, as well as consolidating its legal status as a registered charitable organisation in Germany.

The meeting of representatives from more than 50 member academies marked the starting point for a new president and board for the term 2024-2027. Professor Paweł Rowiński of the Polish Academy of Sciences, who has served on the organisation’s board since 2018, will steer ALLEA as President for the next three years.

Professor Rowiński, an outstanding scholar specialising in Earth Sciences, previously held the position of Vice-President at the Polish Academy of Sciences from 2015 to 2022 and serves as the Director of the academy’s Institute of Geophysics in Warsaw. His research interests include mathematical methods in geophysics, geophysical flows, river hydrodynamics, and fluvial hydraulics. In addition to his notable contributions to his field of study, he actively engages in science advice, science popularisation, science ethics, and demonstrates a strong commitment to water and climate issues.

“ALLEA is a strong voice of European science on a global level and plays a crucial role in shaping the research ecosystem, promoting academic freedom, facilitating a green transition even in times of crises, and advising on the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation. I am deeply honoured and grateful for the opportunity to serve ALLEA in the coming years. As international collaboration faces increasing challenges, cross-border cooperation among academies becomes more vital than ever. I am committed to working closely with all ALLEA members to ensure that the voice of the academies continues to be heard,” said Professor Rowiński about his upcoming presidency at ALLEA.

He succeeds Antonio Loprieno from the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, who has led ALLEA as President since 2018. Reflecting on his term, Professor Loprieno remarked, “It has been a privilege to serve the community of European academies in a critical, but also pivotal period of our institutional history: a time during which science has turned into a decisive player in social and political life in European societies; a time during which the voice of European scientific academies has become clearer, younger, and stronger. And it is particularly gratifying to see that ALLEA’s mission will be continued by very capable hands!”

ALLEA is the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, representing nearly 60 academies from across Europe. Since its foundation in 1994, ALLEA speaks out on behalf of its members on the European and international stages, promotes science as a global public good, and facilitates scientific collaboration across borders, disciplines, and generations. Jointly with its Member Academies, ALLEA works towards improving the conditions for research, providing the best independent and interdisciplinary science advice, and strengthening the role of science in society. In doing so, it channels the intellectual excellence and experience of European academies for the benefit of the research community, decision-makers and society at large. ALLEA is constituted as a not-for-profit association and remains fully independent from political, religious, commercial or ideological interests.

Text prepared based on ALLEA press release

Summary of V4 Conference on Research Infrastructures

The conference of the V4 liaison offices in Brussels on European Research Infrastructures took place on 18 April 2024. The objective of the event was to present examples of Research Infrastructures operating in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary and address some of the challenges that infrastructures face, such as funding and long term sustainability.

Amendment for the Work Programme 2023-2025

In April 2024 the European Commission adopted an amendment to the Horizon Europe work program for 2023-25. The amendment means adding previously unallocated funds from Horizon Europe to increase its budget for calls in 2024 and to include new calls for proposals in 2025. Hence, the budget of the current work program has increased by nearly €1.4 billion to a total of €7.3 billion.

The largest injection of additional funding will be directed to the Missions, Teaming for Excellence and HE Pillar II calls in the Clusters: Health, Climate – Energy – Transportation and Food – Bioeconomy – Natural Resources – Agriculture – Environment.

The whole Work Programme for 2023-2025 is available here.

Address of the Presidents of National Academies of Sciences of the EU Member States

Science and innovation are the essence of the European Union’s freedom and resilience, its global competitiveness and its prosperity – with such an appeal to candidates in the 2024 European Parliament elections was made by the presidents of the national academies of sciences from all 27 European Union Member States.

The signatories of the letter highlighted four key demands common to the entire scientific community of the European Union – to ensure that the European Union is a world leader in science and innovation, to promote an open and free science system, to invest in science and education and to use up-to-date scientific knowledge in policy.

– Our letter is an expression of our wish to draw the attention of decision-makers and voters to the need to maintain the Community’s current position as a global leader in in the field of science and innovation – emphasises the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Professor Marek Konarzewski. – Increasing investments in science and technology sectors, thanks to which a united Europe will be able to meet the challenges of civilisation, are essential for this. In today’s world, we consider it necessary to promote an open and free system of science and to use the knowledge and competences derived from it to make key decisions for the EU, including for Poland – he points out.

In their joint appeal, the researchers point out that our continent is now at the forefront of global research and innovation, with researchers from EU countries involved in in research and development worldwide. However, they remind us that in a changing world, it would be naive to believe that the position of European science is unshakable. In this context, stressing the need for systemic investment in science, they call for member states, as well as the EU itself, to allocate the equivalent of at least 3% of their GDP to research and development. According to the signatories of the appeal, the new EU research and innovation framework programme should also be strengthened in budgetary terms.

The heads of the national academies of science also emphasise that one of the main strengths of European science is international cooperation and the free and open exchange of knowledge and the mobility of researchers and students that serves this.

Harnessing the results of scientists’ work requires the continuous implementation of scientific achievements into policy processes. – Future challenges – including climate change and biodiversity loss, international migration, food security, energy transition – are so complex and urgent that they cannot be addressed effectively without science and a trusting dialogue between science, policy, civil society and economic actors, the appeal also reads.

IGLO in Action: Second IGLO Workshop on Lump Sum Funding Summary Report

Take a look at the summary report from the Second IGLO in Action Workshop on Lump Sum Funding collecting experiences of research managers in implementing the lump sum in Horizon Europe projects.

V4 Conference on Research Infrastructures

18 April 2024, Hotel Renaissance, Brussels

The theme of this year’s joint #V4Conference is Research Infrastructures. A number of intervening European research infrastructures (RIs), both well-established and emerging, are operating in the four Visegrad countries. The aim of the event and its accompanying discussions is to look at these examples and provide a platform for debate led by speakers coming from different countries and involved in RIs in different ways. The event is organised by the R+I support offices in Brussels (CZELO, SLORD, PolSCA, NRDIO).

The conference will enable networking among the gathered stakeholders, facilitating debate between the interested parties from the Brussels community, EU bodies and Member State representations, and the researchers themselves who use a range of different European research infrastructures. Taking into account the EU Council Conclusions on Research Infrastructures, the event will discuss, among other things, calls for Member States to ensure the long-term sustainability and digital strengthening of their research infrastructures.

Summary of V4 Training for Research Managers and Administrators – Spring 2024

11th-13th March 2024, Brussels

We have concluded the spring edition of the V4 Training for Research Project Managers, which ran from 11th to 13th March this year. Traditionally, it was a joint event organised in Brussels by the PolSCA Office together with the Czech Liaison Office for Education and Science (CZELO), the National Research, Development and Innovation Office in Hungary (NRDIO) and the Slovak Liaison Office for Research and Development (SLORD).

We hosted a total of 35 people, not only from the Visegrad Group countries but also from countries affiliated to IGLO (Informal Group of RTD Liaison Offices), with Poland being represented by 7 research managers:

Participation of Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences in the Framework Programs of the European Union.

The Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences have secured over 50 million euros in funding in Horizon Europe programme. Research teams and scientists from more than half of PAS Institutes are involved in projects under Horizon Europe. Learn more about the participation of APS Institutes in the EU Framework Programs below.

European Partnership on Rare Diseases: State of Development

The upcoming European Partnership on Rare Diseases (RD), an initiative scheduled for launch in 2024 under Horizon Europe is rooted in collaborative research and innovation. It seeks to address the unique challenges posed by rare diseases, ultimately improving the lives of millions across Europe.