In the statement ‘Smart People for Smart Growth’, the EUA sends six key messages to the EC, including the important role universities play in the innovation chain through their research and teaching activities and that university-based research is often innovation in the wider sense and impacts the economy and society on many levels.

EUA on funding instruments for research and innovation

Concerning EU funding instruments in the Innovation Union and FP8, the statement calls for the use of excellence criteria, simplification of administrative procedures and to ensure competitive funding instruments open to all research institutions. It calls for an increased budget for FP8 and related instruments and calls on governments to see expenditure on university-based research and training as an investment, rather than only as consumption of public resources. Finally, the statement stresses the importance of keeping up with global competitors who invest heavily in their universities and the next generation of researchers.

Further information
The full statement is available at: http://www.eua.be/Libraries/Policy_Positions/Smart_People_for_Smart_Growth_Final.sflb.ashx.

Source: EUA/UKRO.