In Horizon Europe and Plan B research funding: Turning adversity into opportunity (HEPI Policy Note 38), Marco Cavallaro of the Università della Svizzera Italiana in Switzerland argues full association with Horizon Europe remains preferable but provides a checklist for making Plan B work, including:
- incentivising the participation of less well-resourced UK universities in European research and innovation, for example through staff exchange schemes;
- allowing greater freedom for individual researchers to devise their own research topics, rather than funding pre-defined projects;
- co-funding schemes between the UK Government and the private sector for applied research projects;
- minimising bureaucracy with short and simple applications; and
- encouraging reciprocal collaborations with EU partners by requiring multi-country stakeholders in research projects.
