in april of this year the commission adopted a communication on simplifying the implementation of the research framework programmes proposing a whole set of measures including gradual improvements but also profound changes requiring a revision of the legal basis of eu research and a rebalancing between trust and control and between risk taking and risk avoidance
one of the options the commission has put forward for further discussion with the other institutions and stakeholders relates to the move towards a results-based approach using lump sums for whole projects
this approach would remove the obligation to produce detailed cost statements by introducing lump sums for entire projects and linking the payments exclusively to the reporting on scientific technical progress
however the commission is aware that such an approach has potential drawbacks for example length of negotiation procedures and it is perceived differently by different stakeholders
the commission therefore suggests studying all implementation details and potential impacts thoroughly before making concrete legislative proposals
the average time to grant in the seventh framework programme fp seven is in the order of three hundred and forty days about one month shorter than in the sixth framework program fp six
while the commission acknowledges that there is room for further acceleration of the relevant processes benchmarking with national funders shows that for projects of comparable complexity a time to grant in the order of one year is certainly not unusual
within the endeavour of creating a european research area the administrative harmonisation between national and european research funding systems is a long-term objective which is shared by the commission
era-nets in fp six and fp seven are contributing to this goal and the joint programming initiatives will bring more progress
as a further step a stakeholder's platform for common principles for external funding in the era was established recently
high risk high gain projects are in particular expected in the ideas specific programme which is implemented by the european research council
preliminary analyses show that the selection process designed by the european research council is successful in challenging the funding to these high-risk high gain projects
the marie curie actions are a key instrument to reverse the persistent trend towards a brain drain of researchers
since nineteen ninety-four marie curie actions have allowed the creation of about fifty zero new research positions in europe at all career stages and with attractive salaries
with a total budget of eur four point seven billion in fp seven marie curie actions will equip about fifty zero researchers including ten zero phd candidates with innovative skills that will enhance their career prospects in both the public and private sector and will prepare them for the jobs of the future
finally the marie curie reintegration grants have been restructured and simplified into a single career integration grant action which specifically addresses the issue of the brain drain
