The Partnership Stakeholder Forum “20 Years of European Partnerships: Reflecting on the Past – Shaping the Future” took place on December 4 and 5 in Brussels, bringing together more than 300 professionals, representing the entire community of stakeholders from Co-funded, Co-programmed, and Institutionalised Partnerships.
2024 marks a special year for European Partnerships, as it is the twentieth anniversary of the launch of the first partnerships, the so-called ERA-NETs, during FP6. Over the last two decades, these partnerships have significantly contributed to the development of the European Research Area (ERA), mobilising and connecting substantial resources across Europe to tackle common challenges in both societal and economic spheres.
THCS actively participated in the event, which not only proved valuable in establishing new strategic links, but also provided an opportunity to gain new insights and deepen our understanding of the broader framework in which THCS operates.
The event was kicked off by a welcome address delivered by Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Start-ups, Research, and Innovation, who called for “the courage to change approaches” and streamline research and innovation processes in a bid to boost Europe’s competitiveness.
Zaharieva emphasized the importance of keeping European-level partnerships as a central pillar of EU research. To ensure this, she stressed that simplification was key.
Following Zaharieva, Hungary’s Deputy State Secretary for Innovation, László Bódis, proposed a discussion on “simplified and harmonised rules, alignment of procedures, and the use of unified IT platforms.”
Giorgio Gori, Vice-Chair of the ITRE Committee, was also one of the keynote speakers, calling for a substantially higher budget for the next FP10, one that would be sufficient to achieve the 3% GDP spending target.
The first day included a panel discussion on “20 Years of European Partnerships – Reflections and Achievements,” featuring key experts from Partnerships, the European Commission and the wider R&I Community. This was followed by parallel workshops focusing on Horizon Europe’s clusters: Health, Climate, Energy, Mobility, Digital, Industry, Space, Food, Bioeconomy, and Agriculture.
THCS participated in the parallel workshop of Cluster 1, where two key topics in the field of Health were discussed: AI in healthcare and Health and Societal Readiness.
Day 2 saw more parallel workshops aimed at improving FP10, discussing topics such as partnership portfolio building, instrument design, and fostering multi-actor collaborations.
To conclude the event, a high-level round-table discussion moderated by Fabienne Gautier (DG RTD) took place, including representatives from Partnerships and other key players in the European R&I field.
The official forum results as well as video recordings are available on the event’s page and a detailed forum report will be published on the ERA-LEARN website in January 2024.