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The European Commission has opened its largest ever mass public consultation on its research and innovation programmes, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, as it aims to assess what has gone right and wrong so far while simultaneously looking ahead to the future.
Horizon Europe is set for “the first significant wave” of lump sum calls in 2023 and 2024, with an estimated 20 to 25% of large scale collaborative research projects set to adopt the approach. The exact number of lump sums calls is pending the official adoption of Horizon Europe work programmes for the next two years. Most will be in pillar two of the €95.9 billion research programme, which supports transnational research.
Disagreements persist over the use of lump sum funding in Horizon Europe, as the European Commission gears up for broader implementation over the next couple of years. At a meeting organised by the European Parliament’s panel for the future of science and technology (STOA), Horizon Europe rapporteur Christian Ehler MEP debated the pros and cons of lump sum funding, with policymakers in the Commission. Meanwhile, research stakeholders continue to call for caution and a slower rollout of the new system.