Executive summary Solving the societal challenges of Europe demands the collabora- With these solutions, the money spent for Horizon 2020 can tion of the best researchers in Europe to provide sustainable solu- provide the optimal innovation as well as create new jobs, ideas, tions. The European Commission Proposal for Horizon 2020 is a knowledge and education – for a wealthy, healthy Europe as an strong platform and a good starting point. inclusive, innovative and secure society. Copenhagen Research Forum gathered 80 European scientists in HEALTH January 2012 to discuss these societal challenges and depict how To relieve the threat to human health and welfare imposed by an research can contribute with the best solutions. The outcome of the expanding number of major health challenges, biomedical research CRF is this report, which contains a set of recommendations to the and its implementation in clinical practice must be supported and European ministers for research and innovation, the European Par- accelerated. To achieve this in the next decade, a paradigm shift liament and the European Commission on how to solve the societal toward personalised medicine will be of major importance, with challenges through research. the overriding aim of improving every citizen’s lifelong health and wellbeing. Basic, translational, and clinical research of high quality For each of the social challenges the six abstracts below summarise provides the foundation for European health systems, offering the the key issues, but one of the strongest messages coming from the opportunity to link with social, cultural, and environmental expertise CRF was that the societal challenges can only be solved in a true to facilitate world-class multidisciplinary research. The global revo- multi- and cross-disciplinary research context. Future research solu- lution in biomedicine is also providing access to new technologies tions need to transcend and expand our traditional view, and true that will require expansion and implementation to tackle the health cross-cutting research is the key word. The Horizon 2020 program challenges that Europe faces. A European platform engaging all should, therefore stimulate and encourage collaboration between key stakeholders to ensure discovery and delivery of these technolo- the research communities associated with the 6 defi ned chal- gies will be crucial. Establishment of a European Strategic Action lenges. One possible organisational mechanism for achieving this for Healthier Citizens is also recommended to assist in strategic goal could be that, in addition to programme elements dedicated long-term healthcare research and planning, including preventive to each of the challenges, an element could be established that measures, and the delivery of best practice across Europe. In most cuts across all disciplines. In this manner, it could be ensured that European countries, healthcare is a driving factor for investment resources were specifi cally dedicated to the issues that cut across – in industry, in education and training, and in the European knowl- the individual challenges. edge base for wealth creation. The proposals in this document will enhance investment and create jobs in research and innovation, The solutions to the societal challenges cannot be seen only in a improve the healthcare status of Europeans and at the same time European perspective, as the nature of most of the problems is drive down integrated societal healthcare costs. global. Research collaboration with the best teams in other parts of the world will bring better solutions, faster and cheaper, through FOOD sharing and collaboration. Europe can provide the platform and The overriding challenges of increasing demand, competition for framework and initiate the needed global research collaboration to land use and other resource scarcities put massive pressure on secure Europe as a prosperous, sustainable region. agriculture and the food and feed industry to produce signifi cantly more per unit of a given resource. Food, agriculture and land use New challenges will arise prior to the year 2020, which is why a must be seen in a much more complex and multi-directional value dynamic approach with new research solutions that also use risk- chain, where research and innovation must encompass needs and taking approaches is needed and why emerging challenges must be opportunities from climate, available resources, environmental recognised early. An end-user, problem-solving approach should be sustainability, transport, energy and health perspectives, not to taken in order to strengthen the impact of the Framework Programme mention social and economic requirements. The processing of and the utilisation and exploitation of outcomes and results. food, feed, bio-energy and bio-materials must also be seen, to a much greater extent, from a holistic perspective that includes a full The open, transparent and simple approach to both calls and life-cycle approach to the use of raw materials, either for their fresh programme administration as proposed in Horizon 2020 is highly use or their conversion into shelf-stable and refi ned products and appreciated and should be further developed to enhance the their use in the associated supply chain. Here, key objectives are userfriendliness of Horizon 2020. reductions in food waste and water consumption, valorisation of all bio-resources, including municipal bio-waste and agro- and bio- industrial side streams, as well as the recycling of suffi cient amounts 7
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