What's going on?

Insistence on ‘excellent’ research is commonplace, but Science Europ warns that it can damage integrity and foster ruthless competition when poorly defined

Lidia Borrell-Damián, Science Europe Secretary General, quoted in Times Higher Education expressing disappointment over the proposed Horizon Europe budget.

Marc Schiltz, the President of Science Europe, is quoted in Science Business saying that the new Horizon budget is lower than anyone had expected it to be: “We are hugely disappointed that the budget is not in any way commensurate to the challenges ahead,” said Schiltz.

Research organisations urged to disclose their assessment practices and how they address bias.

Lidia Borrell-Damián, Science Europe Secretary General, quoted in Research Europe saying that a 20 per cent target would be “a good starting point”. 

She was commenting, as part of an article on proposals for the European Research Area to include spending targets and a ‘Cern for climate change’

Science Europe calls for the European Commission’s recovery package in Horizon Europe to be extended beyond 2024

Science Europe quoted in RP saying that the €94.4bn proposal “fails to allow for scientific knowledge to contribute” to achieving the Commission’s ambitious agenda for digitisation and environmental sustainability.
The Commission’s proposal should also be tweaked to ensure the €13.9bn that will go to Horizon Europe from the recovery fund is shared more equally between the parts of the programme dedicated to applied or basic research, Science Europe said.
It is “essential that substantial funding for all research programmes, and especially the excellent science pillar, is provided for the entire duration” of the 2021-27 budgetary period, Science Europe added.

Science Europe, quote in Science Business, saying that EU leaders should reconsider the European Commission’s budget proposal for Horizon Europe, as it could be “seriously damaging” for parts of the programme focused on basic research and research mobility.
According to the commission’s budget proposal released in May, most Horizon Europe programmes would lose 3.2 per cent of their budget. 
Science Europe says the plan should be reconsidered, so that the recovery money also reaches the coffers of the European Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and research infrastructures.

Science Europe, quoted in Science Business saying that EU leaders should reconsider European Commission’s budget proposal for Horizon Europe, as it could be “seriously damaging” for parts of the programme focused on blue sky research and research mobility.

Extra €10.9bn proposed for R&D programme is welcomed, but falls short of expectations.

Science Europe Secretary General quoted in Research Professional saying that she welcomed what she called a “sensible proposal”. “The Commission has done a really good compromise job, so I only hope the member states will be able to approve it,” she said, referring to the short time left before the programmes are due to begin next year.

There’s more in the pot, but MEPs and research lobbies decry ‘mismatch’ between European Commission’s revised research budget and the post-COVID-19 mountains to be scaled.

Science Europe Secretary General quoted in Science Business, saying that the €13.5 billion addition to the Horizon budget is a positive in a “world of compromises” however, “there is a disappointment that [the budget] isn’t at least €100 billion.” 

Science Europe Secretary General quoted in Research Europe saying that “Research has to be competitive, no matter who manages the funds,” Open competitive calls are “the first proof of excellence”, she said, and should be part of processes that disburse public funds.

“This should be seen as a first positive step. Now this money needs to be properly used [and] given to the right hands.” It is not certain whether there are enough suitable researchers to do the work world leaders have pledged to fund, she warned. “It’s a market question—to what extent the scientific community is able to absorb all these funds in an efficient way,” she said.

Research leaders welcome overarching aim of strategy, but express reservations about some proposals.

Science Europe Secretary General, quoted in Research Professional, said that the concepts in the draft strategy were “welcome as a clear outline for the implementation of Horizon Europe”. “Maximising impacts, greater transparency and further simplification, fostering more and better synergies with other EU programmes, ease of access through streamlined information portals…these are issues that have been requested by many stakeholders for many years, including Science Europe.”  But one proposed change, a “clearer specification of the expected impacts” of projects, has caused some concern, she added. 

R&D advocates redouble push for clarity and funding after summit ends in stalemate.

Secretary General of Science Europe quoted in Research Professional, saying that R&D advocates could use the global outbreak of the Covid-19 respiratory disease to show the importance of R&D in emergencies. 

Science Europe Secretary General, Lidia Borrell-Damian, reacts to plans by the EC for an overhauled European Research Area later this year.

Other research and higher education leaders have already expressed concern over the proposed package.

Science Europe Secretary General quoted in Research Professional, about Commissioner Gabriel taking office. 

Lidia Borrell-Damian is the new Secretary General of Science Europe.
She started her position in September, after over thirteen years at the European University Association (EUA). She works closely with the Governing Board and the Member Organisations and will be in charge of implementing Science Europe’s strategy and leading the office in Brussels.
From 2014 onwards, Lidia Borrell-Damian was Director for Research and Innovation (R&I) at EUA, where she was responsible for the overall policy development and project work related to the area.
CESSDA asked Lidia Borrell-Damian to answer a few questions.

Sector upbeat about new EU leaders and promise to transform bloc’s economy via research.

Lidia Borrell-Damián, Secretary General of research association Science Europe told Research Europe that Commissioner Gabriel is "a fantastic person, a really hard worker,” she said.

Fears over budget crunches and education’s moment in the spotlight. Science Europe Secretary General, Lidia Borrell-Damian, quoted in Research Professional. She says that it is hard to assess proposals on their own because what matters is spreading funding across research and education. She adds that it’s not that education isn’t important, but it should not come at the expense of budget cuts in research. 

Nature asked nine leading Europeans to pick their top priority for science at this pivotal point.

Stephan Kuster, Secretary General of Science Europe, shared how there is no time for complacency in reinforcing the European Research Area