Earma 2024: European Association of Research Managers and Administrators lists goals for EU research programme
The EU’s next research and innovation funding programme should devote dedicated instruments to supporting research management and administration, the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators has said.
Earma set out 10 recommendations for the next programme, due to start in 2028 and currently known as Framework Programme 10, in a position paper it presented at its annual conference on 24 April. It said that dedicated funding for research management and administration is needed in FP10 to “empower” the profession.
Horizon Europe, the EU’s 2021-27 R&I programme, already has some dedicated funding in this area, Earma said, but no dedicated instrument. It is “essential” for such funding to continue in FP10 to reduce differences in R&I performance across the EU, the group said, calling for specific instruments or schemes to be created for the purpose.
“Earma calls for dedicated funding for the further professionalisation, networking and recognition of research managers and administrators in FP10,” the group said. “The introduction of dedicated budget lines would be a step in the right direction.”
This should happen within a broader context in which FP10 is given an “ambitious and ringfenced budget” of at least €200 billion, Earma said, echoing other calls from the R&I sector. But it wants “a robust costing exercise” to determine the specific budget.
Call for simplification
Earma also called on the European Commission to reduce the bureaucracy of FP10 compared with Horizon Europe.
It said that although efforts have been made to simplify Horizon Europe, the scope and requirements of its funding calls have “expanded, making them more complex”.
Delayed release of annual work programmes has also led to tight deadlines for calls in Horizon Europe, Earma said.
“The current landscape of EU research funding remains characterised by its complexity and multiplicity of rules and processes, which pose a significant barrier to efficient and effective research management,” it said. “This complexity can lead to increased research bureaucracy, impeding excellent research while consuming considerable administrative resources. In addition, it acts as a deterrent to potential new applicants.”
Earma called for a reduced diversity of funding instruments with different rules and for a simpler template for submitting project proposals. Applicant organisations should also be given flexibility to choose the best approach for them, it said.
Other recommendations
Elsewhere in its paper, Earma called for more funding for basic research, particularly in the second pillar of the programme, which focuses on societal challenges and industrial competitiveness. It argued that fewer calls should be thematically dictated by policymakers.
FP10 should encourage dissemination of research papers through models of open-access publication that do not involve authors having to pay article-processing charges, Earma said, and it called for a more inclusive approach to encouraging diversity through the programme.
It is also seeking increased support for global collaboration and for better synergies with other EU and national programmes.