Horizon 2020: Funding rules are crucial for sustainability of Europe’s universities

The latest edition of EUA’s public funding observatory highlights that in countries where cuts are taking place, funding for infrastructure has been one of the most affected areas and it is likely that this trend continues. Ageing facilities and equipment will necessarily trigger increasing costs for institutions and deteriorate teaching and research environments. It is therefore of crucial importance for the financial sustainability of Europe’s universities that, in addition to national funding schemes, the future European funding programmes, in particular the Horizon 2020 programme currently being negotiated at EU-level in the “trilogue” negotiations, provide funding rules that cover the costs for university research infrastructure in an adequate way. EUA’s Public Funding Observatory can be viewed here.
EUA understands that an important element of the trilogue discussions next week are the proposed “guidelines” circulated by the European Commission on how to cover costs for infrastructure in their proposed flat rate model. Taking account of the costs for infrastructure is indeed an important issue for the financial sustainability and competitiveness of Europe’s universities. Read more...