Next EU research programme must balance competitiveness with broader impact, stakeholders say

Research experts in Brussels have said that the definition of impact for the next R&D framework programme must evolve to take into account the challenges of competitiveness, while also considering social impact, bottom-up research and collaboration networks.

Speaking at a panel discussion organised by COST, a European instrument supporting cooperation among researchers and innovators, on 22/10/2026, Jean-David Malo, Director for the European Research Area and Innovation at the European Commission's DG RTD, said the definition of impact would need to evolve for the next programme, seven years after the current framework was designed.

"By definition, you have to refocus what you mean by impact seven years later. The environment has changed, as have the economic and geopolitical situations,…