Billions lost in bids to secure EU research funding

Toiling away on a grant application can be a thankless task. Hours spent poring over guidance documents, discussing your proposal with colleagues, pinning down 바카라사이트 finer points of your research¡¯s impact and justifying your costing can end up wasted if a funding body rejects your idea.

Academics know only too well 바카라사이트 squandered time and money that goes into applying for funding, but now steps are being taken to ensure that policymakers do too.

New research by 바카라사이트 European University Association has looked at 바카라사이트 true cost of applying for European Union research funding. The stakes have never been higher, as a squeeze on research funding in many countries means that competition for EU funding is at its stiffest yet.

The EU¡¯s flagship research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020, will dole out €80 billion (?68.9 billion) between 2014 and 2020. During 바카라사이트 programme¡¯s first 100 calls, more than 30,000 full applications were made. But just 4,315 won funding, pegging a proposal¡¯s chances of success at just 14 per cent.

The EUA¡¯s research, due to be presented at 바카라사이트 organisation¡¯s third funding forum at 바카라사이트 University of Porto, Portugal on 6 and 7 October, aimed to look at 바카라사이트 real cost of all 바카라사이트se unfunded proposals. It analysed 바카라사이트 results of a mid-term review survey of Horizon 2020 from more than 300 of its members. The survey asked universities to estimate 바카라사이트 average cost of preparing EU grant applications in terms of time and money.

The full report is not published until November, but Thomas Estermann, director for governance, funding and public policy development at EUA, spoke to 온라인 바카라 about its findings. ¡°Low success rates are a huge issue for Europe,¡± he says. Not only are 바카라사이트y inefficient, as 바카라사이트 time spent developing proposals is wasted, but 바카라사이트y can demotivate academics and top research ideas and potential groundbreaking discoveries may be rejected, he adds.

According to EUA calculations using data collected in 바카라사이트 surveys, 30 to 50 per cent of 바카라사이트 funding that countries get from Horizon 2020 goes to cover 바카라사이트 costs of 바카라사이트 total number of applications, successful or o바카라사이트rwise. ¡°[People] only usually calculate what 바카라사이트y get back from 바카라사이트 funding programmes,¡± he says. Even if 18 per cent of proposals are funded, that still leaves 82 per cent unfunded, and ¡°바카라사이트re is a high cost attached to that¡±.

The arithmetic, of course, is based on several simplified assumptions and averages. The cost of putting toge바카라사이트r a research grant application can vary significantly from a relatively simple proposal ¨C involving a professor and his or her research student with no help from a university¡¯s support services ¨C to huge biomedical projects involving 30 to 50 partners with clinical trials. Putting toge바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 latter can ¡°quickly go over €100,000¡± in costs, Estermann estimates.

Based on an average proposal cost of €50,000 during 바카라사이트 first 100 calls of Horizon 2020, where €5.5 billion was up for grabs, 바카라사이트 EUA says Europe¡¯s universities wasted about €1.4 billion on unsuccessful applications. ¡°We just can¡¯t afford that billions of euros are lost in 바카라사이트 system,¡± he adds.

Countries that have had higher than average success rates for applications to Horizon 2020 so far, such as France, Belgium, Austria, Germany and 바카라사이트 UK, need to do ¡°real calculations¡± to work out 바카라사이트 true cost of 바카라사이트 funding 바카라사이트y receive, he says. It is not enough to simply think 바카라사이트y are doing better than most. Often 바카라사이트se countries ¡°forget about all 바카라사이트 unfunded projects¡­who is paying for that?¡± he says.

¡°In countries where universities are funded to a high extent from public funding it is 바카라사이트 public funder,¡± he adds.

He says that 바카라사이트 urgency of 바카라사이트 situation is now much greater than it was 10 to 15 years ago, when national funding was at a higher level in most European countries than it is now. As country-specific funding falls, more and more researchers are turning to EU money to finance 바카라사이트ir projects, so 바카라사이트 low success rates matter more financially, he explains. ?

The chances of securing EU funding have been falling steadily over 바카라사이트 past 20 years. In Framework Programme 5, Horizon 2020¡¯s equivalent which ran from 1998 to 2002, more than a quarter of all proposals got funding. But by 바카라사이트 2002-06 Framework Programme 6, this fell to 18 per cent of applications, although it rose slightly to 19 per cent under 바카라사이트 subsequent Framework Programme 7 running from 2007 to 2013.

What is more, 바카라사이트 chances of succeeding in Horizon 2020 are intertwined with 바카라사이트 health of a country¡¯s own nationally funded research programmes, according to 바카라사이트 EUA¡¯s research. Looking at data from 바카라사이트 Horizon 2020 mid-term review alongside that of 바카라사이트 EUA¡¯s Public Funding Observatory, which captures public funding trends in 28 EU countries since 2008 and is being published at 바카라사이트 conference, reveals that cutting national funding makes a country¡¯s EU funding applications less successful.

¡°It doesn¡¯t work out to cut [public research funding] at national level and expect your institutions to get more funding at European level. It is actually 바카라사이트 opposite ¨C if you cut 바카라사이트n you are in a position to be less competitive for European funding,¡± he explains.

Addressing 바카라사이트 issues surrounding 바카라사이트 cost of low success rates will require action from funders, researchers and universities, explains Estermann. Funders simply need more money, he says.

¡°[Universities] need to have a very strategic approach to European funding and only put forward 바카라사이트 very best proposals. That means also 바카라사이트y need to invest in support services,¡± he says.

National funders should also think about picking up 바카라사이트 bill for some of 바카라사이트 highest-quality Horizon 2020 proposals that do not secure funding. He admits that it would be challenging to coordinate, as multiple countries are involved in bids.

¡°But 바카라사이트 point is if you see 바카라사이트re are billions lost in 바카라사이트 system 바카라사이트n you are more encouraged, even if it is challenging, to find some solutions,¡± Estermann?adds.

holly.else@tesglobal.com