Draft Report of the Expert Group on International STI Cooperation to ...

Internal and external dimension <strong>of</strong> ERA: Towards a symbiosis
The ERA was originally launched with <strong>the</strong> aim to develop an internal market <strong>of</strong> research and
development in Europe, taking into account <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> Member States provided by far
most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> resources and o<strong>the</strong>r inputs for research. The ERA development has delivered a
plethora <strong>of</strong> new, experimental instruments with variable geometries, which have been widely
taken up by policy makers and funders, and it has introduced a range <strong>of</strong> new governance
mechanisms to establish better coordination between MS and <strong>the</strong> EU. This has overcome <strong>the</strong>
traditional two-level structure <strong>of</strong> funding in Europe (MS vs. FP) and led to more appropriate
and efficient funding and support mechanisms. However, <strong>the</strong> position <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Expert</strong> <strong>Group</strong> is
that <strong>the</strong>re is a great urgency in moving from a strategy <strong>of</strong> coordination <strong>of</strong> disparate activities
to a more collaborative and integrated approach, thus making international cooperation truly
strategic.
However, ERA is not quite yet <strong>the</strong> strong, open internal knowledge market with clear
governance structures it is intended to become. In addition, it has yet to establish a logical
and well-coordinated link between <strong>the</strong> external and <strong>the</strong> internal dimension. The opinion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
EG is that <strong>the</strong>re is a great need to develop ERA fur<strong>the</strong>r as a European knowledge market in
order to achieve an external dimension with significant impact, both in terms <strong>of</strong> its effective
functioning and in terms <strong>of</strong> its attractiveness and competitiveness in <strong>the</strong> global production <strong>of</strong>
knowledge and innovation. The Strategic Forum for International STI Cooperation (SFIC)
has a great potential to be a driver <strong>of</strong> such a symbiotic development. However, SFIC has not
yet lived up to that potential.
The external dimension <strong>of</strong> ERA has two key dimensions: On one hand it cannot be successful
and effective unless ERA itself constitutes a viable and attractive entity for research and
development. Hence, it builds on <strong>the</strong> efficiency and effectiveness <strong>of</strong> ERA. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand,
an effective external dimension <strong>of</strong> ERA will be highly beneficial for <strong>the</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>r development
and completion <strong>of</strong> ERA, e.g. through providing effective channels for scientific and
technological talent that Europe needs to develop its overall competitiveness. An EU strategy
should <strong>the</strong>refore give considerable attention to convey this mutual relationship, and bring out
<strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> external dimension for ERA as well as <strong>the</strong> need for a more mature ERA
to better reach impact and attraction globally.
Drivers <strong>of</strong> globalization <strong>of</strong> STI
R&D and science and technology more generally are some among many areas from culture to
markets that are becoming global. This reduces <strong>the</strong> influence <strong>of</strong> individual countries or blocs
such as <strong>the</strong> EU on developments both at home and abroad but also generates important
benefits through specialisation, trade and competition. The data show that R&D and science
and technology is still strongly focused on <strong>the</strong> ‘Triad’ countries overall. However, this pattern
is weakening fast, as especially <strong>the</strong> large emerging economies’ role in global science,
technology and production continues to increase. Given that changes in <strong>the</strong> location <strong>of</strong> R&D,
cooperation patterns and human capital production all have long lead times, EU research and
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