The Guild’s Vice-Presidents gathered online to discuss The Guild’s vision for the next framework programme for research and innovation, the strategic priorities for the European Education Area and the Commission’s quest to create a European Excellence Initiative.
The Guild, as part of a wider network of key organisations of universities and research funders in the UK and Europe, welcomes the announcement of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the EU is open to implementing UK association to Horizon Europe. The Windsor framework constitutes a major milestone in EU-UK relations, and it is a critical step towards safeguarding scientific collaboration across borders.
In its comprehensive contribution to the Horizon Europe interim evaluation covering all pillars of the programme, The Guild highlights the critical need for further investment in research and innovation at the EU level and calls for a better balance within the framework programme’s funding between curiosity-driven and fundamental research on one hand, and challenge-oriented research and close-to-market technological development on the other.
The Guild urges investment in fundamental research as quintessential to the European Union’s capacity to be globally competitive in artificial intelligence and digital research. This will enable the European Union to achieve its ambitions for strategic autonomy in digital technologies, whilst addressing pressing societal challenges.
In response to the European Commission consultation on the Horizon Europe programme, The Guild highlights that the last three years have demonstrated the critical need for investing in health research, to ensure that citizens across Europe have access to innovative and high-quality healthcare. We also stress the importance of ensuring appropriate data sharing, multinational clinical trials, and access to digital solutions as a critical way to enhance the effectiveness and affordability of healthcare in Europe.
As a contribution to the European Commission consultation on the Horizon Europe programme, The Guild calls for a stronger role of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities (SSAH) research to address some of the most existential challenges Europeans face today.
The Guild calls for strengthening the research focus of missions funded from the Horizon Europe budget, so that their original goals of addressing transformative, inter- and transdisciplinary and societal challenges can be met effectively.
The Guild’s new year started with its Vice-Presidents gathering in Brussels on 12-13 January, focusing on key policy priorities for European research and innovation, notably the Commission’s mid-term evaluation of Horizon Europe and the Strategic Plan for the next framework programme and strengthening Europe’s innovation ecosystem.