Only a year after taking office, the head of DG RTD, Frenchman Jean-Eric Paquet, has implemented a completely new set-up of the DG, which is now built around 4 thematic areas: healthy planet, clean planet, people, and prosperity. It is not by chance that these are also key priorities of the UN's Agenda 2030 "Sustainable Development Goals" (SDGs). Furthermore, Paquet has added the position of a special advisor on SDGs to the DG RTD organigram.

Paquet himself stated that the reasons for the re-organisation have been to “opening the windows” and “breaking down silos” within DG RTD. One of the desired outcomes is better cooperation with the other DGs regarding the development of Horizon Europe. In this context, a term often used by Paquet and other policy makers is 'co-creation'. Co-creation can be understood as the collaboration of all relevant stakeholders across different disciplines and sectors in order to achieve common goals.

The new design of DG RTD highlights the importance of both the SDGs and the co-creation approach for Horizon Europe. Despite its name, the new Framework Programme explicitly aims at tackling worldwide problems, which is reflected in the naming of Horizon Europe’s second pillar – “Global Challenges”. Paquet’s call to open the windows and overcome silos is therefore not only directed at his own staff but also at the research and innovation community as a whole.

Joël Graf, National Contact Point

original source: Euresearch - Newsletter December 2019