New EU funding for research and innovation is on the horizon
Research and innovation in Europe for the period 2014–2020 will be funded through the EU's Horizon 2020 programme. In order to facilitate discussions among the Member States, the Danish Presidency – represented by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (DASTI), a part of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education – organised several conferences that focused on key areas related to the upcoming EU funding programme. The ministerial conference and a conference on excellence were supported by EU funding under the 'Ministerial conference and excellence conference' (MCEC) project. During the ministerial conference various issues were raised, including that of the support of young promising researchers, the allocation of regional funds for research infrastructures and the increased participation of industry. Additionally, it was underlined that Horizon 2020 should be more attractive to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) since their involvement would mean sector growth and job creation. All stakeholders and ministers who participated agreed with some of the main features of the European Commission's proposal, such as the need for more simplified grant applications and an increased focus on innovation and growth. In order to promote the concept of excellence and how to support and nurture it, the EU Presidency also organised a conference called 'Excellence revisited - The value of excellence'. The main output from the conference was a declaration on excellence – the Aarhus Declaration – designed to serve as a future reference point for all stakeholders. The Aarhus Declaration focused on the support and nurture required to achieve research excellence at the European level through non-bureaucratic instruments that follow transparent assessment and selection procedures, and at the national level through appropriate initiatives. Also, it emphasised the importance of sustaining creative and dynamic research environments and infrastructures that should be accessible by members of society. The MCEC-funded conferences aimed to promote a timely agreement on the Horizon 2020 proposal so that it would be successfully implemented towards EU research and innovation. Following on from the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), It is hoped that this next round of funding will improve on the translation of European research excellence into products and market shares on the global market.