Science Minister launches consultation on EU Framework Programme
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Issued 13 Oct 2010 - BIS
Science Minister David Willetts today launched a consultation
inviting the UK’s Research and Development (R&D) community
to have their say on the European Union’s Framework Programme.
The UK’s performance has been strong in the current 2007-2013
iteration of the Framework Programme (known as FP7) – with researchers
receiving €1.83 billion (£ 1.64 billion) of funding from the
€12.7 billion (£11.37 billion) awarded to date.
The programme is expected to be worth a total of
€50.5 billion (£45.2 billion) for the 2007-2013 period.
However, while there are high levels of participation
from the UK’s academic community, business participation is lower in
comparison with France and Germany.
By developing a deeper understanding of the programme
– the EU’s main mechanism for funding research, technological
development and demonstration – the UK can generate best value of the
opportunities it offers.
Science Minister David Willetts said:
“UK universities, business and research centres have
an excellent track record of winning grants from this important
programme. So far, we’ve attracted more than £1.6 billion – second
after Germany. Research, technology and innovation will play a key role
in helping our economy to grow and it is vital that this initiative
meets UK interests.
“We want to hear from those with first-hand
experiences of this initiative – academics, researchers and
particularly businesspeople – so that we better equip the UK to
maximise on the opportunities on offer and strengthen our negotiating
position in advance of the next Programme.”
Recent UK projects which have won EU funding include:
Professor Konstantin Novoselov at Manchester
University, who was last week jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physics "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional
material graphene", was awarded an €1.78m (£ 1.46m) ERC Starting Grant
– part of FP7 – in 2007 for his project on the same material.
Researchers, led by King's College London, have discovered a gene
associated with myopia (nearsightedness) which could potentially make
the condition a good candidate for gene repair. This work was supported
by funding from the current programme – FP7 – as well as FP6 and FP5.
Total project funding to all partners was €28.86m (£19.58 m).A new data
transmission system has been developed by researchers led by the
University of Southampton which could significantly improve
transmission capacity and energy efficiency of the world's optical
communication networks. PHASORS ('Phase sensitive amplifier systems and
optical regenerators and their applications') project clinched total
project funding of €2.7 m (£2.13m).
The Framework Programme aims to deliver a number of
EU-wide benefits including economies of scale, the development of
public goods such as low-carbon technologies and the creation of
cross-European networks.
One of the issues that this consultation will explore
is what would encourage more businesses involved in research and
development to take advantage the framework programme’s funding
opportunities.
The call for evidence will go live on 13 October 2010
and will close 12 weeks later on 4 January 2011.
Go to www.bis.gsi.gov.uk/consultations/FP8
to download the consultation document and response form.
You can also join in an online discussion via the Technology
Strategy Board _Connect platform on
https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/guest and register for the FP7 UK
network and then the FP8 consultation group.
Notes:
1. Printed copies of the consultation document can be obtained
from BIS Publications via the orderline: 0845 015 0010.
2. FP7 grants are paid in Euros and amounts given in GB pounds
(£) are approximate figures based on exchange rates prevailing at the
start date of inpidual contracts.
3. FP7 currently funds the following broad areas of research:
Cooperation: collaborative research projects involving
universities and businesses from at least three countries.Ideas:
projects driven by a single, highly-regarded “investigator” and funded
through the European Research Council. These are often, but not
necessarily, highly innovative “blue skies” research projects.People: a
number of projects aimed at boosting researcher skills and mobility
under the Marie Curie programme.Capacities: a numbers of programmes
aimed at boosting the research capacity of Europe. The Joint Research
Centre supports EU policy-making and delivery e.g. in nuclear and
environmental science through a number of research centres.
About the Author
© Crown Copyright.
Material taken from the BIS Department for Business, Innovation and
Skills. Reproduced under the terms and conditions of the Click-Use
Licence.
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2010-10-18 13:53:43 in Economic Articles
