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

Priority setting: Defining objectives and
understanding roles
Prioritize for <strong>the</strong>mes and challenges
Key objectives for international cooperation in STI
Priority setting lies at <strong>the</strong> heart <strong>of</strong> any strategic approach to international STI cooperation.
The overarching objectives for international cooperation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Union will be <strong>the</strong> reference
point for priority setting:
• Streng<strong>the</strong>ning <strong>the</strong> Union’s excellence and attractiveness in research and innovation as
well as its economic and industrial competitiveness;
• Tackling global societal challenges;
• Supporting <strong>the</strong> Union’s external policies.
While priority setting normally is seen as a process taking place in a given institution e.g.
through providing criteria and rules for allocation <strong>of</strong> funds, <strong>the</strong> EU level priority setting is
different. Not only can <strong>the</strong> Commission itself be seen as a multi-actor institution in which
priority setting needs to take place through negotiations, <strong>the</strong> Commission also needs to add
two levels <strong>of</strong> negotiations to achieve sustainable priorities for STI: First this concerns <strong>the</strong> MS
(and AS), in particular through <strong>the</strong> SFIC partnership, and second, it concerns third countries
as external partners in cooperative efforts.
This complex negotiation process can <strong>the</strong>n be classified according to drivers such as user
needs, institutional or political concerns, but more importantly in this context is <strong>the</strong>
differentiation between scientific vs. social or broader political, economic and societal goals,
and include <strong>the</strong>matic and/or structural priorities (OECD 2012). With <strong>the</strong> above overarching
objectives in mind, priority setting as <strong>the</strong> EG sees it, needs to be understood as negotiating
processes including many stakeholders at various levels that delivers outcomes with
significant added value to <strong>the</strong> aggregate STI efforts. Priority setting concerns allocating
resources (sometimes with partners) towards certain goals formulated as targets related to <strong>the</strong>
stated objectives to influence actions <strong>of</strong> research performers. For <strong>the</strong> EG, this implies that <strong>the</strong>
priority setting should be <strong>the</strong>matic/mission/challenge oriented, ra<strong>the</strong>r than geographical
which has been <strong>the</strong> preferred approach for e.g. SFIC up until now.
Current practice in priority setting
The EU’s activities in international cooperation in STI have been channelled through <strong>the</strong>
research Framework Programmes. The current situation has several key characteristics:
• International cooperation is mainstreamed across all <strong>the</strong>matic areas in FP7, with each
<strong>the</strong>matic programme responsible for priorities being set.
24