Campaign for increased investment in research and innovation

The Research Matters campaign is a collaboration between European universities, research organizations, funding agencies, industry partners, and communication professionals across Europe. The University of Bergen is one of the founders of the campaign, which was launched in May 2024.The campaign is an initiative to mobilise and unite the European research and innovation community with common goals and arguments for prioritization and budgeting debates in the EU and in all European countries. 

Grand challenges

The campaign is driven by the grand challenges we are experiencing and facing, including environmental problems, loss of nature, societal and geopolitical crises, threats to democracy and security, and pandemics. The campaign emphasizes that knowledge is the foundation of Europe's competitiveness, welfare, and peace.

The campaign will highlight and demonstrate the important role research plays in shaping our future and tackling global challenges, and advocates for increased investment in research and innovation.

Two main goals for increased investment

Together, the partners have set these goals:

• More than 3% of gross domestic product will go to research and development in the EU and all European countries, a goal that the countries themselves set themselves over 20 years ago. 
  In 2022, R&D spending in Norway amounted to just over half of this, at 1.56 percent. The share has not been this low since 2008, when it was 1.55 percent (Source: Indicator Report 18.6.2024)
   
• Doubling the budget for the EU's next research and innovation program (FP10) to approximately 200 billion euros over 7 years, and ring-fencing the budget.

The campaign will reach decision-makers, stakeholders across different sectors, the media and citizens at local, national and European levels.

Open letter to EU leaders and European finance ministers

In June 2024, the campaign published an open letter to EU leaders and all European finance ministers calling for a significant increase in research efforts. The letter has collected support from over 80 European organisations and institutions.

Other activities in the campaign include national and European events, debates, online and social media activities, meetings with authorities, members of parliament and mobilisation of new supporters.

The organisation EUPRIO, the European Association of Communication Professionals in Higher Education, is hosting the campaign.
The 16 partners from influential European organisations include the Coimbra Group, of which UiB is a member. See all partners here.

How to participate?

The campaign website can be found at research-matters.eu.
Everyone who shares the goals is encouraged to talk about the benefits of research and innovation and long-term thinking to decision-makers, colleagues and the media and at events. The research sector is especially encouraged to be active.
Feel free to use the hashtag #ResearchMatters on social media, and follow the campaign on Linkedin or Bluesky.

Universities and national organizations can sign the open letter by contacting the campaign.

The event Invest in the Future! in Brussels

On 2 October 2024, the Research Matters campaign organised a debate on R&I investments in Brussels. View a recording here.

Keynote speaker was Enrico Letta, author of the report "A fifth freedom to enhance research, innovation and education in the Single Market" and former Prime Minister of Italy.
Additional speakers were ERC President Maria Leptin, MEP Christian Ehler, and Pascal Metivier from the Belgian company Syensco.

Debate on research and funding

On 26 June 2024, some of these topics were also raised during a panel discussion between ERC President Maria Leptin, Minister for Research Oddmund Hoel, Director of the Research Council of Norway Mari Sundli Tveit and UiB Rector Margareth Hagen. Watch the event in recording here.