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 CuttingEdge4.0 project coordinated by Eurecat Technology Center is at the forefront of innovation in the steel industry, tackling the challenge of cutting Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS) for the automotive sector.

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.

Georgia is already known for mountains, good food and wine, but soon it could be known for its science and entrepreneurship too. On 5 October, a PSF expert team launched their tailor-made review of Georgian research and innovation policy in Brussels – looking at how to prioritise research fields where Georgia has most capacity or potential, narrowing the gap between research and business, and funding research based on performance.

Teamwork is essential to science and research; scientists work together in the lab, universities and institutes work together in collaborative projects, and countries increasingly work together by aligning and launching joint research programmes. A PSF Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) brought research ministries and agencies together from 12 countries to work on how to improve this – resulting in good practice examples and case studies, a self-assessment tool for any country to identify potential improvements, and a commitment by all to meet again in one year to discuss progress and next steps.

Vilnius, 12 October 2017 - A team of independent experts, set up under the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Policy Support Facility, has presented policy recommendations to the Lithuanian government, aimed at upgrading Lithuania’s research and innovation (R&I) ecosystem. The recommendations focus on strengthening research and innovation partnerships, boosting science-business cooperation and attracting innovative Foreign Direct Investment.

On 28 June in Brussels, eleven months’ work in the Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) on Alignment and Interoperability of Research Programmes culminated in presentations of the findings and lessons-learned to an audience from across the EU. Results include a final report featuring good practices and case studies, a self-assessment tool that can be used by any country to identify potential improvements, and a commitment by all participating countries to meet again in one year to compare progress and identify next steps.

On 13 September 2017, after nine months of work, a dedicated Horizon 2020 Policy Support Facility (PSF) Peer Review panel presented its final report and recommendations in Warsaw on how to reform Poland's higher education and science system to improve quality and impact.

In recent years, some European countries have invested in the data infrastructures needed to evaluate the results and effectiveness of R&D grants awarded to businesses. A new Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE), organised by the Horizon 2020 Policy Support Facility (PSF), sets out to consider a variety of approaches – sophisticated quantitative methods, qualitative, behavioural aspects and holistic systems analysis – and their applicability to other countries.

Ukraine has put in place a wide-ranging legal framework to govern the development of its science and innovation system, but must move from theory to action, and faces tough implementation challenges, according to an international Peer Review carried out in the second half of 2016.

In recent years, a small but fully fledged startup ecosystem has started to emerge in Slovakia; this entrepreneurial sector can contribute significantly to the modernisation of the country’s economy, becoming more competitive and innovation-driven; but it must be nurtured by supporting investors and reforming the business environment: these are the findings of a panel of international experts asked to advise the Slovak government under the Horizon 2020 Policy Support Facility (PSF).