Alliance4Life is a strategic partnership of 12 leading institutions from 11 new accession countries, in which the Bulgarian partner is the Medical University of Sofia. The alliance recently issued a joint position of the project partners for the new EС Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10) . Here is the rationale for the proposed vision:
Over the past decade, the new accession countries (called ‘Widening’ in the document) have made significant progress in integrating into the European Research and Innovation (R&I) ecosystem. Since the launch of the 7th Framework Programme (2007-2013), these countries have steadily increased both their participation and financial return within EU R&I funding programmes. The data attests to the transformative potential of sustained support and targeted capacity-building efforts at the EU level.
At the same time, not all new accession countries have developed at the same pace. While the overall divide between the new accession countries and the old EU member states has decreased, within the group of new members another gap has emerged – some countries and institutions have made significant leaps forward, while others are making only incremental progress. This growing heterogeneity underlines the urgent need for more differentiated, evidence-based and context-sensitive support mechanisms in the new FP10.
The Alliance4Life partnership is at the forefront of this transformation. By promoting long-term cooperation, knowledge exchange and mutual learning, the Alliance plays a key role in enhancing research excellence and management capacity across Central and Eastern Europe.
While many university alliances and large research organisations have published their recommendations for FP10, calling for increased budgets and reduced administrative burdens, which we fully support, this position paper offers an additional and region-specific perspective. Our recommendations are based on the practical experience of institutions in the new accession countries. They focus on the specific challenges that we know well and offer practical solutions to make the FP more inclusive, balanced and ultimately more competitive.
Alliance4Life offers this position paper as a contribution to shaping a future Framework Programme that is both competitive and inclusive, and makes full use of the scientific potential of all EU countries.
