EU-Forschungsnetze von Finanzierungsmangel bedroht[en] 

Partners of Networks of Excellence gathered in a forum on 20 November 2007 sounded the alarm over the future of the Networks of excellence (NoE) EU research policy instrument. Introduced under the Sixth Framework Programme for research (FP6), NoEs were designed to overcome the fragmentation of European research on particular topics by durably integrating different partners' research capacities.

"The future of the NoE is however unclear. There are risks of interruption of several successful initiatives which brought together many research institutes and universities from all 27 member states," stated the forum. 

An opinion paper put together by FP6-funded NoEs deplores that "in FP7, the number of NoEs has been substantially cut back in the first calls, with only 17 networks being funded, as compared to 101 in FP6. In addition, no support for existing NoEs has been announced." 

The networks launched under FP6 do not know how to survive and secure financing once the EU funding has been used. The average €7 million EU contribution (double that of an ordinary EU-funded project) allows for three to five years of activity, but durable integration takes more time.

"I understand their [NoEs] point, because they are not ordinary projects where you carry out research, produce results and then go home," said Etienne Magnien from the Commission's research directorate general. However, he reiterated that the Commission provides NoE funding as an incentive for those who want to relay it and develop it to full scale. "If we want to have a thorough discussion about sustainability, then the national players are needed," he added. 

The issue "is not merely a question of money but also of political willingness," Magnien continued. "If there is political willingness, then there's money. The question to ask is: are the parent institutions of those participating in NoEs ready to consider that they will give national resources for their NoE participants so that they can stay there for few more years?", he argued. 

He explained that the EU Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik has invited member states to come together with the Commission to organise an open research area in the context of which "the NoEs can be extremely instrumental because they are already creating the bridges that we have in mind". 

He added, however, that "'open research' is the idea that if you want to carry out research in Europe in an integrated way, you can't rely solely on the Commission. You have to bring together the different, including national, research funders - the Commission can only act as a catalyst for cross-border discussions." 

Magnien said that a process of evaluation and impact assessment of NoEs has started and a group of wise persons will be set up before Christmas to guide thinking and will propose ways to come together on this issue in 2008. 

Asked whether the mandate of the group was linked to the identification of the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) of the European Institute of Technology, Magnien said that the Commission will propose a revision of FP7 in 2009. 

Moreover, the discussion on the NoEs could potentially lead to new ideas for the networks "to see what else we can do about them", he added. However, this "second chance" for the NoEs would only be given in a context where the national players have a greater role, Magnien said.