FP10 Position Paper | December 2024 | Download PDF.
The European Union must commit to prioritising public interest in the development of its new research & innovation (R&I) framework programme (FP10). The focus on competitiveness, although a legitimate objective, must not be the sole driving force of R&I investments.
In our position paper, we provide recommendations to guide its development, including the importance of ensuring public return.
Recommendations
- Health must remain a priority for EU programmes, policies and initiatives, especially regarding unmet needs, pandemic preparedness, and antimicrobial resistance.
- A mechanism must be put in place for measuring the social impact of public funding of R&I by developing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound indicators that will measure the impact of FP10 funding on health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
- Ensure the societal benefits of publicly funded R&I by ensuring biomedical innovation leads to products with proven therapeutic added-value.
- FP10 must enshrine public return on public investment as a guiding principle, guaranteeing transparency and accountability where investments or other forms of contribution related to the public purse have been made.
- Possible measures to ensure public return on investment include enforceable conditions on equitable access to endproducts resulting from FP10 funded programmes. This can be achieved through knowledge sharing (including IP) for the transfer of publicly-funded technologies to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) or not-for-profit manufacturers.
- Relevant European Parliament committees, such as those covering public health (ENVI) and industry (ITRE), should be engaged from the early stages of drafting of FP10, and be involved in periodic reviews following its approval.
- FP10 must promote collaborations with LMIC-based academic and research institutions, for example through partnerships and joint scientific research projects. Such collaborations should be based on shared priorities and mutually beneficial outcomes.
- Establishment of a dedicated (ring-fenced) fund for health within the FP10 budget, as was the case for Horizon 2020.
- Finally, to reiterate, any EU public-funded process must ensure accessibility conditions. This applies to FP10 and also other programmes and initiatives, such as HERA and Global Gateway