UK, fight for collaboration with Europe, that’s what you should do

EU Science and Research: Making the UK a better place for research and innovation, says Robin Grimes, an adviser to the UK defence ministry

It’s important for UK science that there’s a rejoining of Horizon Europe. “Across the sector we all agree that participating in the programme is the best outcome for research and innovation,” she says. This period of uncertainty will give us full access to the world’s largest collaborative research programme.

But building research for any purpose (whether for discovery science, the science needed in environmental protection, or science for industrial development) is not like heating an oven-ready microwave meal. Results don’t need to be plucked off the shelf, put in a drawer or pressed buttons in order to get an outcome.

As Robin Grimes, former chief science adviser to the UK defence ministry, told members of the UK Parliament last year, the collaborative relationships that are leading to advances in research have, in some cases, been decades in the making. If these are severed, new ones can’t be formed instantly.

The EU says that the United Kingdom can participate in Europe, but only if there is a resolution to the trade dispute on the border with Ireland.

Last week, politicians of the major UK political Parties met with experts and business leaders to discuss how to get the best deal for the UK after leaving the EU. It indicates that there is a genuine desire for a national consensus on new beginnings with the EU.

Heitor says that there is a push to firm up plans before the parliament holds its elections in 2024. He says that their actions here mark a first step towards making research careers more attractive and sustainable.

Gabriel said that the EU needs to work closely with member states, universities, research organizations and industry to ensure that it can continue to recruit and retain researchers.

In her experience, a lot of academics are leaving Spain for the US to study Parkinson’s disease. The Spanish government paid for her education, even though she didn’t have international experience. So she left for a postdoc at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, studying the role of autophagy in neurodegenerative disease.

She went to Spain to be close to her family, but said many scientists are still abroad. Even now, in a relatively secure position, González-Rodríguez says she struggles to find funding for her students and staff members, a preoccupation that eats into her lab’s productivity. The current struggle, she notes, is trying to work out how to keep her laboratory technician, who is employed on a temporary contract, funded beyond May. “In just a few months, she may not have any job,” González-Rodríguez says.

To assess which institutions will be eligible, Heitor says, the commission will need to draft criteria for evaluating what constitutes a ‘good’ research career for junior scientists, and a group is being formed for this purpose. He also says that any such assessment would probably consider how many early-career researchers an institution has on its staff, the level of research autonomy they have and whether the institution is offering opportunities to ‘at-risk’ scientists, such as those who are fleeing Ukraine.

UK researchers are optimistic that they will soon regain access to the European Union’s flagship Horizon Europe funding programme, after the United Kingdom and the EU reached an agreement on the status of Northern Ireland after Brexit. For the past two years, UK participation in the €95.5-billion EU research programme has been in limbo as negotiations dragged on over the Northern Ireland Protocol, which concerns the flow of goods between the United Kingdom and the EU through the UK territory.

The co-funding mechanism that Heitor is examining would allow the commission to raise money from other sources. Industry in particular, Heitor notes, should have a vested interest in funding basic research. Even if researchers are not working in the industry, companies still benefit from their work. We would ask that these companies dedicate funds towards supporting this work.”

Attila Dézsi, an early-career archaeologist who freelances for the University of Tübingen and the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Germany, says that any initiatives will need to be vetted carefully to ensure they don’t inadvertently create problems. In an effort to address a lack of opportunities for young people, Berlin requires universities in the city state to provide pathways to permanent employment for postdocs. The law backfired, prompting hiring freezes and at least one resignation. The situation was really harmed by that, as the person says, because of the challenges of finding a permanent job. “We need to be very thoughtful in what we do next.”

Research and development in the UK: the clawback of EU funding to the ITER project in France and the consequences for research and development based on Europe

The government had set aside £2.35 billion to fund the United Kingdom’s contributions to the Horizon Europe research-funding scheme and Euratom nuclear-energy organization, which funds the ITER fusion research project in France. The money went unspent and was surrendered to the Treasury because the country has not confirmed it participation in those programmes. The clawback was revealed on page 300 of a technical accounting document.

The scientific community swiftly condemned what appeared to be the loss of promised funding for research and development (R&D), after repeated assurances by the government that UK researchers would not lose out if the country failed to reach an agreement on the Horizon Europe programme.

The Institute of Physics in London and the UK Royal Society both voiced their concerns over the apparent loss.

The EU funding was contingent on the successful negotiation of associated-country status when the UK voted to leave. The UK government provides funding to researchers who have their applications approved by Europe but are unable to receive funding due to a lack of funding in the United Kingdom during the negotiations with Europe, but it is still in place until March.

The volume of UK applications continue to fall even though the guarantee is in place. “Uncertainty leads to a vicious downward spiral, where declining engagement leads to further decreases in the theoretical draw-down of this money through the UK guarantee or through an association agreement.”

Even if the funding is later made available for research through associations with europe or an alternative, it’s still not clear to the community what they’ll get.

Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said that she was happy to start work immediately on an association agreement once the agreement is implemented. “So [it’s] good news for all those working in research and science.”

Joining as an associated country requires an annual financial contribution. Jo Burton, policy Manager for the Russell Group of universities, said that UK researchers would have the same level of access to the program as they did when the EU was a member.

James Wilsdon is an associate professor at University College London who studies science policy. First is for the United Kingdom’s Conservative government to convince sceptics in its own ranks and in Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to back the deal in parliament — or to rely on support from opposition parties if it cannot.