According to recent data from the European Commission, Horizon 2020 funding success rates in Central and Eastern Europe EU-member countries is steadily catching up to nations in the Western region of the continent. Issues regarding grant funding and infrastructure still linger, however, making the catch up still difficult.

The EU average of success rates for winning grants in 2016 was 14.8%. Countries such as Romania, Poland and Hungary had success rates between 12­% and 16%. The Czech Republic received funding for 19% of its projects, while Italy and Spain received funding for 17% and 14% of their projects, respectively. However, overall, over 60% of applications come from a select group of countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, leaving the success rates for funding in Eastern and Central European countries off balance. A major cause for this is the fact that Eastern and Central European countries, which were deeply affected by the 2008–2009 European economic crisis, have been mainly focused on reducing national debts and balancing their countries’ budgets. Because of this, governments in these countries are not able to prioritize increasing R&D budgets, although they are optimistic they will reach their target budgets within the next decade.

One way countries can get an extra boost for science innovation is through Horizon 2020’s successor initiative, the Framework Program (FP9), which can help fund better infrastructures for research and, ideally, help attract foreign researchers as well.

Source: Science|Business