through participation to advisory boards. Industry involvement climate change) will play a leading role in the structuration and the should be mandatory but should not be a hindrance, from a effi ciency of food and agriculture-related research during Horizon risk-taking perspective, to go beyond the state of the art. Cluster 2020, and they have already begun to provide an interesting structures where more than one project is fi nanced on one research framework for better integration of the ERA. Another important JPI is topic might have specifi c benefi ts from stakeholder involvement in HDHL (healthy diet for a healthy life), which will also contribute to coordination processes. reaching the objectives. For these programmes, the support of the Commission should exceed the funding of secretariat functions, at As stated, PPPs are the new route, and different projects and instru- least in their initial phase, in order to make the instrument effi cient. ments for basic science, applied science, and valorisation must be developed. Networking programmes connecting scientists and stake- The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) would also holders must be renewed and implemented to exchange knowledge contribute to reaching the goals of this challenge through Knowl- to and from EC projects, including research on national level. Overall, edge and Innovation Communities initiatives (KICs) on climate and synergies and knowledge sharing between national programmes a future KIC on food for the future. A food KIC would strongly con- (like the intention behind the JPI programme) should be facilitated in tribute to a structuring of the research fi eld and to create synergy be- Horizon 2020 and relevance and impact of the research should be tween the three key components of the research triangle (research, strengthened through stronger industry-academia partnerships. For education and business) to achieve the innovations necessary to pro- larger research clusters the platform effi ciency should be strengthened vide solutions to the challenges identifi ed. Based on the mechanism through an open and competitive organisation utilising public-private of PPPs (including regulatory authorities), a food KIC would connect partnering including not only research performing institutions and the different stakeholders in order to get maximum effi ciency. companies but also civil society stakeholders. The PPP approach should also be used to address the regulatory burden on research and It is essential to interconnect the various initiatives to avoid the innovation. For example, at present it is nearly impossible in Europe duplication of efforts and to make sure that there are few omissions. for a public research institution to bring GMO crops into production. Furthermore the visibility, transparency and coordination of these larger EC programmes should be improved in order to reduce the In order to increase research quality and impact, recruitment of the bewilderment in the research community caused by the increasing best brains must be secured through special emphasis on instruments complexity of the panorama of programmes – and to ensure the encouraging young people to attend educational programmes, pref- best participation of excellent contributors to realise the European erably addressing cultural dimensions that might present obstacles Research Area objectives. for optimal dispersion of knowledge. Student exchange programmes should be implemented at all relevant levels. INNOVATION IMPACT Innovation is a rather complex issue. It happens all the time and those In terms of infrastructure development, Europe needs to focus mas- who are able to maintain openness in the process usually will succeed sively on the development of data handling, longterm storage and the best. Previously, innovation processes were rather closed in many accessibility, and advanced data analysis, including validation companies and to some degree also in PPP projects. Now, open of models developed for complex systems dynamics. In addition, innovation is becoming more and more the common mode of opera- strategic focus should be put on systems biology in a cross-cutting tion. Even the food industry, historically very reluctant to share results, approach with the other defi ned challenges within a number of is adopting this mechanism and in Horizon 2020 openness between fi elds of application, e.g. development of agricultural products stakeholders should be encouraged and facilitated. of higher quality and value; prevention of antibiotics resistance; improvement of food safety (avoiding food-borne diseases, elimi- Since companies normally will not invest in participation in public nating antibiotics remains); and improvement of feed, wastewater research and innovation programmes unless there is some protec- control and waste management. tion of future income from innovations in that area, agreement on intellectual property rights (IPR) are generally a prerequisite and Research and innovation activities addressing the complex challenge should be prepared upfront. This would also lead to more relevant of “Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime and effi cient projects with higher impact since early IPR settlement research and the bio-economy” should be linked to and coordinated would ease the communication and exchange of ideas in an open with relevant existing initiatives at the European level, such as ERA- atmosphere before funding is achieved. This common EU practice is NET, ERA-NET+, Article 185, and JTIs. Furthermore, joint program- welcomed and needs to be sustained. ming initiatives (JPIs), namely FACCE (agriculture, food security and FOOD 37
crf_rapport_rgb_singlepage
To see the actual publication please follow the link above