EU puts research firmly on the Horizon

The European Parliament in Strasbourg ratified the Horizon 2020 programme on November 20th. The EU member states will now sign off at ministerial level, paving the way for the first calls for proposals on December 11th for €70 billion of research and innovation funding between 2014 and 2020. However, it is worth keeping in mind that the budget represents only 4 per cent of the total investment in research across the 28 countries of the European Union. The purpose of Horizon 2020, the latest in the framework programmes that have been running since the 1980s, is to bring true added value at EU level to national programmes.

In 2012, the European Commission focused on five key objectives of the European Research Area (ERA) that should be achieved by the end of 2014. These are: more effective national research systems, including increased competition and sustained or greater investment in research; optimal transnational co-operation and competition; an open labour market for researchers; gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research; and optimal circulation and open access to scientific knowledge.

The European Commission published in September the ERA Progress report for 2013. This is the first comprehensive review of the steps taken across Europe in completing the ERA objectives. The report shows that while there is progress, there are significant differences between countries in different parts of Europe.

More effective national research systems mean there is increased competition based on excellence and sustained or greater investment in research. Across the EU, government expenditure on research has been in decline since 2009 and, at 1.47 per cent in 2011, was at its lowest level since 2002. All countries allocate some research funding through competitive calls for projects. Ireland is among 21 countries where institutional funding is linked with an assessment of research performance and where international peer review is widely applied.

Optimal transnational co-operation and competition is about raising quality through Europe-wide open competition. On average, only 3.8 per cent of R&D budgets are directed towards transnational co-ordinated research (Ireland would be at about 4 per cent). Over 80 per cent of funding organisations have common eligibility criteria, but only about 30 per cent of them implement common priorities and common selection decisions. An open labour market for researchers requires breaking down barriers to researcher mobility, training and attractive careers.

On average, 40 per cent of researchers in European universities do not believe their employers implement open and transparent recruitment. In contrast, more than 70 per cent of researchers in Ireland believe the national system is open.

Gender gap
European (and indeed global) research still suffers from a substantial loss of highly skilled women, and from a lack of gender dimension in research content. There are few women in leadership positions or involved in decision-making. In 2010, women represented only 19.8 per cent of senior academic staff, and less than 20 per cent of research-performing organisations apply recruitment and promotion policies and provide support to leadership development for female researchers.

Open access to publicly funded research is increasing in Europe. About 50 per cent of research performers indicated that their publications are in open access. Ireland has been highly active in developing repositories since 2007 with the RIAN project, and, in 2012, Ireland launched a national strategy for open access.

The achievement of a European Research Area needs the full commitment of member states. The Horizon 2020 programme could have taken a tougher line on the five policy objectives. For example, it would seem reasonable that open and transparent recruitment of researchers would be obligatory for all projects funded under Horizon 2020. During negotiations, there were attempts to make policy objectives like open recruitment obligatory; this did not happen.

However, it must be remembered that the final Horizon 2020 programme is a compromise between the 28 member states, the European Commission and the European Parliament. That being said, there were intensive discussions and the importance of the ERA policy objectives was recognised by all.

Conor O'Carroll is research director in the Irish Universities Association iua.ie