SUMMARY
The European Union (EU) has traditionally been a
leader in the area of research and innovation (R&I), second
only to the US, and it is a crucial area for Member States to
boost economic growth. However, in recent years, the EU's competitiveness
has been increasingly threatened by R&I efforts in emerging
economies. In 2010 the Commission and Member States moved to address
this problem, unveiling Europe 2020 as a new strategy for growth
and Horizon 2020, its flagship R&I programme. Consideration
of the budget for Horizon 2020 by the European Council and Parliament
is still underway, and we urge both institutions to increase it,
or at the very least to maintain it at its current level, in order
to ensure that the EU remains internationally competitive in R&I.
During 2012, the Committee examined a number of European
Commission proposals for projects and strategies which contained
a strong emphasis on R&I. These proposals were wide-ranging
in subject matter, but the Committee's scrutiny of them identified
a number of cross-cutting issues including; concerns about the
effectiveness of impact assessments; a lack of information about
monitoring and evaluation of projects; and the importance of stakeholder
consultation and private sector participation. This report provides
a more in-depth analysis of these issues and how they relate to
the Commission's R&I strategy.
We note the importance of the Commission's consultations
with stakeholders in ensuring that its R&I programmes are
designed and carried out in a way that stimulates economic growth.
We encourage the Commission to continue strengthening its efforts
to consult the various learned societies, professional bodies
and trade associations in developing R&I policy and projects,
specifically those in 'niche' R&I sectors such as health.
Similarly, we agree with the Commission that a focus
on 'excellence' in R&I proposals offers the best chance of
growth through R&I. To this end, we support the Commission's
commitment to carry out accurate and effective impact assessments,
monitoring and evaluations for R&I policies and work programmes,
but suggest that more work should be done to ensure consistency
in this area, and realistic expectations for output of R&I
projects.
We were particularly concerned about the low and
declining level of private sector participation in EU R&I
programmes, given the importance of the private sector in commercialising
R&I and creating economic growth. While the Commission has
made efforts to engage more effectively with the private sector,
the gap between private sector participation and that of higher
education institutions is still too large and must be addressed.
The bureaucracy and complexity of EU R&I programmes acts as
a barrier to private sector participation, especially for Small
and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) without the resources to navigate
complicated and inflexible funding processes. The long 'time-to-grant'
period presents a further obstacle.
We believe that EU R&I programmes represent an
excellent financial and networking opportunity for UK businesses
as well as higher education institutions. We call upon the Government
to highlight these opportunities to UK businesses, and to continue
strengthening their support structures for those businesses wishing
to participate.
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