September 25, 2026. The article “Enhancing Europe’s Competitiveness by Empowering Researchers as Innovators” calls for a more seamless funding pathway from basic research to market implementation, simpler funding procedures, and greater recognition of entrepreneurship at universities. According to the article, persistent institutional hurdles and funding barriers prevent the full economic and societal potential of scientific excellence from being realized.
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This project is an initiative of INPACT!, a network founded in 2023 that brings together more than 120 researchers with a focus on innovation from over 20 countries in the European Research Area. Members include numerous researchers funded by the European Research Council (ERC), among them Prof. Max Lemme, CEO of AMO GmbH, professor in the Department of Electronic Components at RWTH Aachen University, and co-author of the article
“Europe’s innovative strength depends on our ability to support promising research from the initial discovery through to application. This requires agile institutions that bridge the gap between research and application, risk-tolerant funding, and clearer incentives for researchers to become innovators themselves,” says Prof. Max Lemme.
The analysis focuses on Horizon Europe, the European Union’s research and innovation program for 2021–2027. According to the authors, the various funding instruments are not yet sufficiently integrated, meaning that discoveries with commercial potential can stall at administrative interfaces—for example, between ERC Proof-of-Concept grants, which help researchers explore practical applications, and European Innovation Council (EIC) programs designed to support technology development and business growth.
One of the key proposals is to consolidate ERC Proof-of-Concept grants within the European Innovation Council (EIC) in the future to create a seamless funding pathway from scientific discovery to market launch. According to the authors, this could reduce repeated evaluations, simplify transitions between programs, and make support for researchers and investors more predictable.
The authors also call for stronger support for early-stage, high-risk innovation. The combined annual funding for the EIC Pathfinder and Transition programs currently stands at around 500 million euros, while their program management capacities remain limited compared to advanced research agencies in the United States. The authors recommend focusing resources more strongly on groundbreaking innovations and granting independent program managers greater leeway to support promising projects.
“Europe is caught in a ‘middle-technology trap’: We specialize in mature industries such as automotive manufacturing and industrial machinery, while future-oriented sectors like AI and biotechnology remain too small. To strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy, we must rebuild the pipeline from scientific discovery to the market—by funding the best ideas and empowering researchers and innovators to translate today’s breakthroughs into the high-tech industries of tomorrow,” says Giorgio Presidente, a researcher at the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University in Milan (IT).
The authors also advocate for shorter grant applications and a stronger focus in the evaluation process on the quality of the idea and its potential benefits.
The authors propose continuing to support successful projects even if they do not receive EU funding despite a positive evaluation. To this end, national funding agencies should enable multi-year funding commitments. This would expand the approach already used through the Seal of Excellence.
However, reforming European research and innovation funding alone is not enough, the authors argue. Universities and technology transfer offices must also create conditions under which researchers can pursue innovative projects without having to choose between an academic career and entrepreneurship.
The article recommends greater recognition of entrepreneurship in academic careers, improved management of intellectual property, and clearer pathways to patents, industry partnerships, and spin-offs, as well as better access to mentoring and entrepreneurial expertise.
The authors emphasize that these reforms alone would not solve Europe’s broader challenges regarding venture capital, regulation, and scaling up businesses. However, a more coherent system that links scientific research, technology development, and entrepreneurship could help Europe better harness the economic and societal potential of its strong research landscape.
“To translate more scientific discoveries into new technologies, products, and services that reach the market, we need clearer pathways within our institutions—with clearly defined steps, reliable timelines, and streamlined procedures. If this process becomes simpler and more transparent, more researchers will be able to translate their knowledge into solutions for societal challenges. I am firmly convinced that a stronger focus on innovation can give new impetus to our career development opportunities, change the way we approach our work, and enable us to make an important contribution to Europe’s global competitiveness while simultaneously addressing societal challenges,” says Amanda Silva Brun, Director of Research at the CNRS and one of the lead authors of the article.
“Enhancing Europe’s Competitiveness by Empowering Researchers as Innovators” appears in the Policy Forum section of the journal *Science*. The article underwent external peer review and was revised prior to acceptance.
The article is an initiative of INPACT!, a European network of researchers focused on innovation, which was founded to exchange experiences, identify barriers to the commercialization of research, and contribute proposals to strengthen the European research and innovation ecosystem.
Amanda K. A. Silva Brun, Giorgio Presidente, Mangala Srinivas, Valentina Cauda, Alberto Fernandez-Tejada, Christine L. Mummery, Rami I. Aqeilan, Thomas Thum, Mehmet C. Onbasli, Robert Colebunders, Gianni Ciofani, Davide Iannuzzi, Marios Avraamides, João T. Barata, Romana Schirhagl, Ana Cecília A. Roque, Luana Dessbesell, Chloé Dupuis, Marco Paggi, Kerstin Kinkelin, Gerard J. J. Boink, Antonella Bongiovanni, Kevin Braeckmans, Kerem Pekkan, Lorenzo Moroni, Twan Lammers, Xiao Xiang Zhu, Adriele Prina-Mello, Carlo S. Casari, Max C. Lemme, Thomas Wolbers, Achillefs N. Kapanidis, Erdem Yörk, Jan S. Kirschke, Philipp-Leo Mengel, Giulio Cerullo, Volker Hessel, Víctor A. de la Peña O’Shea, Aitziber L. Cortajarena, Frank Kirchhoff, Harald H. H. W. Schmidt, Imre Berger, Anne Houdusse, Edgar R. Gomes, Frederic Amant, Tambet Teesalu, Joan Ballester, Juan José Vilatela, Raymond M. Schiffelers, Fabrizio d’Adda di Fagagna, Roman Jerala, Cristina Canal, Sophie Demolombe, Gaetano Gargiulo, Giovanni Volpe, Andrea C. Ferrari, Daniel Gros, Clemens Fuest, Dario Polli, “Enhancing Europe’s Competitiveness by Empowering Researchers as Innovators,” Science, Vol. 393, Issue 6818, pp. 1302–1304 (September 24, 2026) DOI: 10.1126/science.ady2388
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