Stakeholders come together to shape the future of EU research and innovation

The European Research and Innovation Days (EU R&I Days) was the first annual policy event of the European Commission bringing together stakeholders to debate and help build the strategic priorities for the first 4 years of Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme. For three day (from 24 to 26 September 2019), co-designed sessions were held, with participants directly taking the floor with comments and suggestions to the European Commission’s different DGs involved. In parallel, open policy conferences sessions were meant to provide spaces for discussions on outstanding research and innovation issues. Those sessions have been recorded and can be followed online following this link.

The event also awarded the Horizon prize 2019 to three innovative mobility solutions for 65+. Read more in our article

EU portal on funded research projects

The event was the occasion to remind about the Horizon Dashbord: all relevant data, impacts, publications and patterns resulting from all Horizon2020 and FP7 projects up to now are gathered in a single portal, displaying information divided by country, per topics and objectives, providing information about trends and gaps. This is an incredible tool for policy-makers, as well as for all citizens, who can have a glimpse on each and every research project financed by European public money.

Climate and demographic changes as key reasearch & policy topics

Last but not least, the EU R&I Days were key for bridging research and innovation with European policy making. Throughout the discussions, climate and demographic challenges were referred to as main drivers for innovation, to the point that Janez Potocnik, former European Commissioner for Environment stressed that “we need to have a Green Deal/Intergenerational Pact” to have all generations aboard in shaping the future.

photo from Twitter (#RiDaysEU)

Your opinion matters!

The co-design process was not limited to the sessions at the event, but is still running into a public consultation aimed at shaping the future research and innovation investments. You can access the on-line consultation here (in English only) or work on its PDF version available through the website. You will thus be able to have your say on the priorities and the place of the European Union in the global demographic, social, economic and environmental challenges.

View the discussions on Twitter using the hashtag #RiDaysEU