The European Commission has been urged to discontinue its Horizon research and innovation funding schemes as a means of improving research excellence and reducing bureaucracy. The call was made by the League of European Research Universities (LERU) in a recent report that argued that the current system of funding research in Europe is overly bureaucratic and fails to encourage excellence.
LERU is a network of 23 research-intensive universities from across Europe. In its report, the organization argues that the Horizon funding schemes, which provide billions of euros in research grants to universities and other research institutions across Europe, are hindering rather than promoting innovation and excellence in research.
According to LERU, the current system of funding research in Europe is too focused on bureaucracy and administration, which can stifle creativity and innovation. The organization argues that the Horizon schemes are particularly problematic because they require researchers to spend a significant amount of time and resources on administrative tasks, such as preparing grant applications and reports, rather than on actual research.
Furthermore, LERU argues that the current system of funding research in Europe does not adequately reward excellence. The organization suggests that the current approach is too focused on spreading funding thinly across a large number of research projects, rather than concentrating resources on a smaller number of high-quality projects that are more likely to produce significant breakthroughs.
To address these issues, LERU is calling on the European Commission to discontinue the Horizon funding schemes and replace them with a new approach that is more focused on excellence and innovation. The organization suggests that a new funding model could involve a more targeted approach to research funding, with greater emphasis on rewarding excellence and promoting collaboration between researchers.
LERU argues that such an approach could help to reduce bureaucracy and administration, as researchers would spend less time on grant applications and reporting and more time on actual research. This, in turn, could help to promote innovation and breakthroughs in research.
The organization also suggests that a new funding model could involve greater collaboration between universities and other research institutions. This could involve creating networks of researchers who work together on specific research projects, with funding provided to support these collaborations.
The European Commission has yet to respond to the report from LERU. However, the organization's call for a more targeted approach to research funding and a greater emphasis on excellence and innovation is likely to be welcomed by many in the scientific community.
Overall, the call to discontinue the Horizon funding schemes reflects growing concerns about the effectiveness of the current system of funding research in Europe. As LERU argues, the current system is too focused on bureaucracy and administration and fails to reward excellence and promote innovation. By adopting a new approach that is more targeted and focused on promoting excellence and collaboration, it may be possible to improve the effectiveness of research funding in Europe and produce more significant breakthroughs in scientific research.
The League of European Research Universities (LERU) has called on the European Commission to discontinue the Horizon research and innovation funding schemes, arguing that they hinder innovation and excellence in research. LERU claims that the current system of funding research in Europe is overly bureaucratic, focused on administration and paperwork rather than on research, and does not adequately reward excellence. Instead, the organization suggests a more targeted approach to research funding that promotes collaboration and excellence. This new approach could involve creating networks of researchers who work together on specific research projects, with funding provided to support these collaborations. LERU argues that this could reduce bureaucracy and promote innovation and breakthroughs in research. The European Commission has yet to respond to LERU's report.
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