According to the latest Eurostat data on tertiary attainment in 2019, eighteen Member States have already met or exceeded their 2020 national target.
A PSF expert panel has made recommendations on how Cyprus’s publicly funded universities and research institutes can increase their engagement with the business community. The main reason for the current low level of engagement is a shortage of firms with sufficient “absorptive capacity” to benefit from the research, laboratory and consulting services that universities and research institutes offer. Measures to boost engagement with the enterprise sector need to go hand-in-hand with policy action to raise business demand for knowledge-based services.
Helping scientists and entrepreneurs to work together is a key way of encouraging innovation. Many countries try to facilitate this and Cyprus is no exception – in fact the country is looking to boost such efforts. A new Policy Support Facility panel of experts is exploring ways of optimising the use of public research infrastructures in Cyprus by businesses.
Denmark is a trendsetter: from furniture design, to urban cycling and the growing international popularity of ‘hygge’. The country is an ‘innovation leader’ according to the European Innovation Scoreboard, and has an admirable track record in research and innovation (R&I). The Danish government is now keen to see its knowledge-based innovation system rank among the global elite.
PSF experts have recommended how to better integrate the Slovenian research and innovation system – by building up links between academia and business – and strengthen its links with the European and global research system.
A new PSF report looks at ways to widen participation in, and strengthen synergies between, the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (FP) and European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF) – both being key financial instruments for research and innovation (R&I) in the EU. The report results from a PSF Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) where 12 countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Spain and Turkey) were actively involved and identified lessons learned and strategies to boost national innovation systems and R&I performance.
Grants and loans play a vital role in public innovation policy, prompting businesses to spend more on R&D and helping them overcome barriers to innovation such as risk aversion and market failures. The Policy Support Facility (PSF) Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) on Evaluation of Business R&D Grant Schemes presented its main findings, lessons learned and reflections on the way forward at an event in Brussels on 19 September 2018. The final report covers behavioural change, new mixed-method approaches and the opportunities of big data.
When countries want to upgrade their research and innovation (R&I) systems, they can turn to the Policy Support Facility (PSF). The PSF provides expertise on demand, reviewing national R&I systems, offering recommendations and guidance in implementing reforms, or bringing countries together to exchange knowledge and good practice.
On 21 June 2018, the Horizon 2020 Policy Support Facility (PSF) Specific Support to Montenegro kick started in Brussels, Belgium. The Montenegrin government has asked for policy advice in building a friendlier environment and a supportive ecosystem for start-up enterprises in the country.
More countries are adopting Performance-based Research Funding Systems (PRFS) to improve their research and innovation systems. A Horizon 2020 PSF Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) brought together practice and experience with this relatively new policy instrument from around Europe and beyond, providing a platform for an extensive discussion on the challenges related to the design and role of PRFS. The work delivered a comprehensive report full of insights on the different policy options, and recommendations for optimal PRFS design.
Projects conducted under H2020 Policy Support Facility (PSF) are building a growing knowledge base covering the latest trends, lessons learned and good practices in research and innovation policy. A new article brings together evidence and experiences from EU countries and beyond about how and when performance-based research funding systems (PRFS) can be used to support policy development.
The final report of the PSF Specific Support to Georgia was presented to representatives of the government, national research and innovation agencies, universities and research organisations, in Tbilisi on 14 June 2018. The report’s policy messages are summarised around four groups of issues which Georgia needs to address over time: Coordination, Concentration, Collaboration and Coherence.
Small fixes are not enough to reach Open Science’s full potential. The results of a 13-country mutual learning exercise (MLE) on Open Science are now available in a detailed report including a roadmap, good practice examples and lessons learned on how to improve access to – and use of – research across Europe and beyond.
Bulgaria’s research and innovation landscape urgently needs reform to reduce fragmentation, increase funding and improve international competitiveness, according to a new PSF expert report. This can prepare the ground for an integrated, fair and transparent system for relating research funding to performance.
A decade of stagnant public research spending and disjointed national response to global forces left Latvia lagging behind EU averages on key R&D metrics. PSF experts have recommended changes to the country's governance, policies and practices to drive innovation, economic development and growth.
Trust, predictability and transparency are essential to a well-functioning innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Romania has a great opportunity to build on its strengths in innovation and entrepreneurship in order to develop such an ecosystem, according to a new PSF expert report.
At the crossroads of the Atlas Mountains, Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea, Tunisia is a land of rich diversity, history, beauty and untapped potential. Keen to add another superlative to this list, Tunisia has set out in March 2018 to boost its research and innovation (R&I) system with the help of a PSF expert panel. Chaired by Philippe Busquin, former European Commissioner for Research, the experts’ fact-finding missions will build a detailed picture of how the R&I system works, with a specific focus on research-industry collaboration and the design of national research priorities.
Attracting and nurturing the talent to drive innovation and get global attention takes a long-term commitment to major reforms across the research and innovation landscape, say experts reporting on the Polish higher education and science system.
The Horizon 2020 Policy Support Facility (PSF) has successfully promoted reforms that enhance the impact of research and innovation (R&I) investments, systems and policies, and should maintain its best features as it evolves into a platform for sustained policy learning and understanding. These were the conclusions of a recent European Commission seminar on policy support for the reform of national R&I systems.
How to get the best out of EU research and innovation programmes? This is a key question for many countries that still do not reach their potential in accessing and making best use of all EU funding available to support research and innovation. A new Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) on National Practices in Widening Participation and Strengthening Synergies, launched in October 2017, is already well advanced in its work to bring countries together, support new actors in joining the EU research programmes and find synergies with EU regional funding.
