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EU experts urge enhanced economic utilisation of the considerable domestic scientific and innovation potential and increase of public spending on RDI
EU experts urge enhanced economic utilisation of the considerable domestic scientific and innovation potential and increase of public spending on RDI
20 September 2016
Modified: 23 May 2019
Reading time: 6 minute(s)
The ongoing reform of the domestic research, development and innovation system is acknowledged by the independent experts who, in their recent report made upon the invitation of the EU, also pointed out: further real structural changes can bring benefits to the economy by exploiting Hungarian scientific excellence and the presence of innovative international companies and also by increasing public RDI expenditure in a sustainable way.

Based on consultations with key actors of the domestic RDI system, the assessment process initiated in December 2014 took place parallel to the development of the new system of competitive calls and also the establishment of the NRDI Office, and its main findings confirmed that decision-makers had targeted the most crucial areas with the already launched institutional changes and programmes. The conclusions and recommendations of the Peer Review are discussed by representatives of the Government, universities, research organisations and innovative businesses at a presentation event organised by the NRDI Office. 

According to the main conclusions of the panel of independent experts invited by the European Commission, it is essential to increase public funding to RDI actors in a sustainable way and to have a strategic vision on RDI which is shared by various governmental bodies, is acceptable to society and which has been evolved in a proper consultation with all concerned stakeholders. Moreover, in order to create a joint vision, a structured dialogue between the National Research, Development and Innovation Office and the broad scientific and innovation community also needs to be strengthened this way to contribute to the Office’s activity. In order to improve the quality and efficiency of the publicly funded RDI system, the evaluation and financing mechanisms of RDI projects must be implemented in line with the international standards of expert assessment. Researchers’ career prospects and working conditions must be made more attractive, especially for young researchers. The expert panel calls to broaden the innovation base in Hungary which is presently limited to only a few key companies, and highly recommends to intensify the cooperation between the academia and innovative businesses so as to achieve positive economic impact.

The international experts have been doing their work along with the system-level reforms being made by the NRDI Office since the beginning of 2015, therefore in several cases they marked the necessity of changes without realising the results of the ongoing processes. In addition to the outlined policy recommendations, the NRDI Office has implemented further measures to consolidate the system in the meanwhile. 

Peer Review of the Hungarian Research and Innovation system

On the conclusions, József Pálinkás, President of the NRDI Office said he was delighted to find that the experts confirmed the necessity of ensuring the sustainable funding of the domestic RDI activity and that they urge a more advanced cooperation between domestic research organisations and innovative businesses. As regards the experts’ recommendation to develop an RDI strategy, the President emphasized that the competitive calls of the portfolio were announced on the basis of the National Smart Specialisation Strategy developed with the involvement of the stakeholders, and that aspect will be carefully observed also in the future, in line with the experts’ recommendations. “The recommendations concerning the assessment of project proposals confirm to us that it was reasonable to reinforce the assessment process back in 2015, on the basis of a multi-tier assessment system involving anonymous experts” said József Pálinkás, adding that the NRDI Office will continue to create forums where evaluators and applicants can mutually provide feedbacks. József Pálinkás also said that the Office revamped the postdoctoral funding programme in response to the necessity of ensuring the next generation of researchers, which was also marked as an important challenge by the EU experts. In relation to the experts’ recommendation to strengthen connections between businesses and research centres, the President of the NRDI Office emphasised: several calls of the portfolio are specifically designed to promote cooperation between the businesses and publicly financed research centres.

Based on the consultations with key domestic actors, the conclusions of the Peer Review completed by September 2016 are presented on 20 September 2016 by Robert-Jan Smits, Director-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, and the members of the expert panel preparing the report, to the representatives of the research institutions, higher education institutions and businesses involved in the consultation process. 

The Peer Review, which was prepared within the framework of the Policy Support Facility (PSF) of the Horizon 2020 Programme, is a new initiative of the European Commission to support Member States in developing, implementing and assessing RDI policies. The process, which can be launched on a voluntary basis, supports the decision-makers of the Member States concerned in reforming and further developing their RDI policies, and provides advice for the assessment of national RDI strategies, programmes and institutional systems, and for the identification of key areas to be developed.

Peer Review of the Hungarian Research and Innovation system

 

National Research, Development and Innovation Office:

The National Research, Development and Innovation Office, which is responsible for the appropriate, efficient and transparent utilisation of domestic RDI funds, developed a uniform system of competitive calls in 2015 for the coordinated, appropriate and value-creating utilisation of EU development funds provided for RDI purposes and the domestic sources provided from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund (NRDI Fund). The coordinated calls in the portfolio incentivise scientific research projects, business developments and the implementation of innovative ideas alike. The Office is responsible for providing professional background to RDI projects funded from EU sources – Economic Development and Innovation Operational Programme (EDIOP) and Competitive Central-Hungary Operational Programme (CCHOP) – and for preparing the concept of calls for applications from an RDI policy perspective. The total funding available for research, development and innovation until 2020 is HUF 1,200 billion, provided from EU and domestic sources in the framework of calls announced in cooperation with the NRDI Office.

Documents:

Previous updates on the Peer Review process:

Updated: 23 May 2019
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