European top researchers present recommendations for how to implement the coming EU research programme, Horizon 2020, most successfully. The recommendations are summarised in a newly published report.
When the next major EU research programme, Horizon 2020, is rolled out in 2014, the main focus is that research must help solve the major societal challenges we are facing.
Horizon 2020 has singled out six societal challenges that research must help address: health, food and agriculture, energy, transport, climate and resources, as well as safe societies. In spring 2012, a European panel of top researchers prepared a list of recommendations on which research areas to include in the programme.
Now the researchers have taken another step forward and will this time give their input on how to best handle the practical implementation of Horizon 2020. The researchers have gathered their recommendations under four headlines:
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Excellence – only 'outstanding science' can address tomorrow's challenges.
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Cross-disciplinarity – major societal challenges are interconnected and mutually dependant, and are therefore not solved within a narrow discipline.
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Simplicity – procedures related to research applications and reporting must be simple in order to focus resources on research rather than administration.
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Impact – Horizon 2020 research projects must clearly demonstrate their useful purpose in the form of economic growth, job creation, innovation or transferring knowledge to industry, not least for SMEs.
The recommendations have been made to the European Commission and the European institutions that will decide on how to implement Horizon 2020. They are available in the newly published report Copenhagen Research Forum II, which can be downloaded from the Copenhagen Research Forums website.
Copenhagen Research Forum is organized by DTU, University of Copenhagen and the Capital Region of Denmark.