SNSF position on the next European Framework Programme for Research
Switzerland regained its status as a fully associated member of the European framework programme Horizon2020 earlier this year. Brussels is now already setting the scene for the next programme beginning in 2021. As Switzerland's national research funding agency, the SNSF has contributed to the debate with a position paper.
Based on its observations of Horizon2020 and the experience gained from running its own funding schemes, the SNSF has formulated seven recommendations for the next European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP9):
- Maintain excellence as the backbone of next Framework Programme
- Pursue continuity, reinforce the ERC and create stronger links between research and innovation
- Invest in Europe’s future
- Ensure a 9th Framework Programme with clear European added value
- Widen participation by spreading seeds of excellence
- Overcome global challenges through international cooperation and openness
- Tackle contemporary challenges
For the SNSF, the Horizon 2020 objective of “strengthening scientific excellence in Europe” is the most important, and it believes that the next European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation should continue to focus on this aim. The Framework Programmes are an important part of the European Research Area (ERA). The SNSF contributes to the development of the ERA through its engagement in Science Europe, its active participation in the EC’s consultations and its numerous mechanisms and instruments for transnational cooperation and mobility.