12 leading European research and innovation stakeholders, among including amongst others Coimbra Group, YERUN, ALLEA, EUA and EASSH, are calling on EU institutions to secure a strong role for early-stage collaborative R&I within the forthcoming Framework Programme (FP10) in a joint statement issued on 11 July 2025.
Ahead of the European Commission’s proposal for the next Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) post-2027 and for FP10 (due to be presented on 16 July 2025), the organisations argue that maintaining and strengthening early-stage collaborative R&I within FP10 is essential to safeguard Europe’s ability to address global challenges, reinforce strategic autonomy and sustain long-term competitiveness. Early-stage collaborative R&I, taking place before market competition and focused on low- to mid- Technology and Societal Readiness Levels (TRLs/SRLs), enables impactful cross-border, cross-sector, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Ahead of the the negotiations soon to be kicked off on the EU’s future research funding architecture, the umbrella organisations urge policymakers to ensure FP10 continues to support flexible, curiosity-driven collaboration, free from overly prescriptive funding models.
In addition, Coimbra Group cautions against any attempt in the future to align the strategic governance of FP10 with that of the Competitiveness Fund and the Competitiveness Coordination Tool. The joint statement calls for concrete improvements in FP10 to further unleash the potential of early-stage collaborative R&I, including reduced complexity, better support for diverse project sizes, and stronger funding for early-stage research.
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