The PSF supports reforms by bringing in a fresh perspective and a wealth of hands-on experience. When Isaac Newton said ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants’, he meant that one can only advance by learning from others. This is the spirit invoked by the PSF to improve European countries’ research and innovation policy-making.

The PSF listens to what countries want and provides them with tailor-made advice based on real-world experience. The PSF mobilises top international experts to tackle today’s hottest policy topics in innovation and science: from business angels to open science. It also brings countries together to learn from each other and to push each other to be more competitive.

National governments benefit from two kinds of support through the PSF: country-specific advice from international teams of policy experts who bring experience of implementing reforms back home, and knowledge' sharing by exchanges of good practice among countries who face the same policy challenge. With this in mind, the PSF is rooted in the European Commission’s tradition of policy learning and country review, where it has proven its added value for European countries.

Bulgaria was the first country to ask for a PSF review. An international team provided the Bulgarian government with strategic guidance for reforms. This inspired discussions on a new national science agenda. Now, the PSF is supporting Bulgaria in rolling out the panel’s recommendations. Similarly, PSF advice was provided to Moldova to better design the country's national science and innovation policy. This has influenced the country’s revised law on research. These experiences show how the PSF is truly supporting countries with the design and implementation of innovation policies.

In a PSF Mutual Learning Exercise on administration and monitoring of R&D tax incentives, participants from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the UK highly valued the opportunity to learn from each other on a hot topic that had so far not been properly addressed at the operational level in any other forum. In the context of the Mutual Learning Exercise on alignment and interoperability of national research programmes, all fourteen participants have identified concrete actions for their own countries to help them better use public funding towards societal challenges.

The PSF connects science with the economy, creates a friendlier environment for innovation and entrepreneurship, and improves how research is funded and run. The results of the PSF activities have already shown its success. That is why the demand is increasing, and it is our goal that more European countries benefit from its services. All EU Member States and countries associated to Horizon 2020 can, through the PSF, achieve higher-performing science and innovation systems, that will lead to more productive and sustainable economies and societies.

By lifting each other shoulder-high, we will see further and achieve more.

I hope you enjoy this newsletter and find it a useful way to keep up with the PSF’s reform-driven work!

Carlos Moedas

European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation