EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation & Research has shared her thoughts and strategy for Europe’s response to COVID19 with conpher. Commissioner Gabriel underlines the success of moving forward is based on cooperation amongst European Member States and researchers sharing and using knowledge and data as early as possible in the discovery and innovation process in open collaboration. Commissioner Gabriel, wants to see an acceleration to open access to research data and believes that The European Open Science Cloud will play a catalytic central role in the production, circulation, and uptake of knowledge.

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The message from Commissioner Gabriel in full:

Researchers in Europe are the main drivers of knowledge attuned to the most pressing concerns of contemporary European societies. Preparedness, assertiveness in the measures taken, and resilience are of essence to master disruption and change. The Commission has been at the forefront in the past months of supporting R&I and coordinating European and global research efforts through among others a dedicated ERA vs CORONA action plan. A well-performing education and research landscape will be all the more necessary in order to face key challenges in the near future and in the long run.

Meanwhile, the response to the COVID19 crisis has shown the exceptional power of such cooperation, including a European wide hackathon and a dedicated open platform for data sharing.

On 27 May the Commission adopted an impressive large-scale recovery package with a very sizeable policy and funding boost to research and innovation, as decisive a driver of Europe’s future. Research and innovation are critical to delivering on the health crisis, the European Green Deal, and the Digital Single Market. The package makes it clear that 25% of the EU budget will be spent on climate and that the very substantial additional funding of €13.5 billion for Horizon Europe shall drive Europe’s shift towards a clean, circular, competitive, and climate neutral economy.

Horizon Europe will scale up efforts in support of extended clinical trials, innovative protective measures, virology, vaccines, treatments and diagnostics, and the translation of research findings into public health policy measures. Building on the success of Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe will continue to drive scientific excellence through the European Research Council (ERC) and the Marie Sklodovska-Curie fellowships and exchanges. It will benefit from the scientific advice, technical support, and dedicated research of the Joint Research Centre (JRC).

Moreover, it will introduce new features, including the European Innovation Council (EIC), a one-stop-shop to bring disruptive and breakthrough innovations from lab to market application, helping start-ups and SMEs scaling up their ideas. The EIC will provide direct support to innovators through two main funding instruments, one for early stages and the other for development and market deployment, complementing the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

steer Europe towards a sustainable, fair, and prosperous future, a cleaner and healthier planet

Missions are another important novelty of Horizon Europe, with the aim to reconnect EU research with citizens by setting inspiring goals. Our new Framework Programme will help steer the twin green and digital transitions in Europe towards a sustainable, fair, and prosperous future, a cleaner and healthier planet, and the well-being of European citizens. The Strategic Plan on Horizon Europe is gradually taking form with a major upcoming opportunity also for you to participate in the online R&I Days from the 22 until the 24 of September.

In shaping a new ERA, we build on achievements of the past, refresh it, and make a step-change in terms of ambition. The renewed ERA Communication will be adopted most likely before summer 2020 and faced with our current recovery from the COVID crisis, we will move towards a deeper mode of cooperation between the Commission, Member States, and all stakeholders involved, addressing the need to increase citizen’s engagement and international cooperation.

New research output will be key, and scientists have a major role to play when developing a holistic European Knowledge Ecosystem.

A new ERA will keep excellence firmly anchored and will strengthen the crucial role of curiosity-driven basic research. Researchers, who are progressively mobile between sectors, disciplines, and countries, are important in diffusing new knowledge between research organisations, businesses, non-profit organisations, and public administrations and society. New research output will be key, and scientists have a major role to play when developing a holistic European Knowledge Ecosystem.

Open Science should become the new modus operandi

Open Science should become the new modus operandi, whereby researchers share and use knowledge and data as early as possible in the discovery and innovation process in open collaboration. Policies for open access to scientific publications have progressed rapidly over the last decade, however, the evolutions for open access to research data, have progressed much slower. The European Open Science Cloud will play a central role to accelerate the production, circulation, and uptake of knowledge.

The European COVID19 Data Platform demonstrated how important such approaches are. FAIR data management practices, new data stewardship capacity, and related services for data-intensive science will need to be in place. These services need to be as open as possible and as closed as necessary, targeting research data, publications, and software. For scientific careers to progress, it is essential that we continue equipping talent with the skills and competences needed, by familiarising you with open science practices and navigation through open access publishing processes, as well as in enhancing research careers through collaboration and sharing.

I welcome with enthusiasm conpher’s initiative to create a space where scientists, researchers, and innovators can meet, share advice and experiences on journal publication as well as explore the potential for disseminating their research and help other peers succeed in these endeavours.

“We should seize all opportunities to advance your careers while working on a truly transformative recovery.”

Commissioner Mariya Gabriel

European Commissioner for Innovation & Research

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the conpher team, mainly early career researchers, wholeheartedly echo the words of Commissioner Gabriel. Researchers will find solutions to the problems our world is facing, but we must fund them, provide them with tools that can encourage collaboration, share knowledge openly, and accelerate the implementation of solutions.