Mission boards revealed their interim reports on the five Horizon Europe missions, which will undergo consultation with citizens in member states over summer.
25 June finally brought what many people following the development of the next Research and Innovation framework programme, Horizon Europe, had been waiting for, a glance at the content of the five missions. On that day, the mission boards, groups of 15 high-level independent experts, published their interim reports. The reports propose the potential concrete missions detailing the scope, goals to be achieved, the timeframes and envisaged actions. According to European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, “the missions will be crucial for the transformation of Europe into a greener, healthier, more resilient continent for all”. The mission boards had been working on their proposals since last September in close cooperation with the European Commission (EC) and in consultation with citizens across Europe. The missions will address five different global challenges. These now available reports attest to a variety in the approaches adopted, and in the level of detail regarding targets and implementation.
First, a mission on ‘Caring for Soil is Caring for Life’ aims to ensure that 75% of all soils in the EU are healthy and able to provide essential services for food, people, nature, and climate, by 2030. The report gives clear indications on how the goals shall be achieved. The mission will build on four distinct blocks: A new soil-focused research and innovation programme, investment for a network of innovation laboratories in farms and forests, a ‘soil monitoring programme’ in all EU member states, and activities to foster citizen engagement with soil issues. The innovation labs will provide a direct link between research and its implementation by land managers, authorities, and citizens, and shall help to address knowledge gaps quickly. The report for the soil mission makes reference and links to several already existing EU programmes and initiatives and is one of the most concrete among all five mission reports.
Second, a mission titled ‘Conquering Cancer: Mission Possible’ aims to save more than three million lives of patients by 2030. Patients shall live longer and better because the mission will address the entire cancer life cycle from prevention to survivorship support and end-of-life care for all types of cancers. To do so, the mission board proposes several steps. They will include a joint European platform for cancer research, EU-wide research programmes to identify genetic risk factors, optimising screening methods and developing minimally invasive treatments as well as a virtual network for cancer patients to share their data. Like the soil mission, the cancer mission links to several other EU health programmes and initiatives and takes inspiration from the unprecedented response to the current Covid-19 crisis.
The mission ‘Accelerating the Transition to a Climate Prepared and Resilient Europe’ wants to turn the urgent challenge of adapting to climate change into an opportunity to make Europe more resilient, climate prepared and fair. By 2030, the continent shall be prepared to deal with climate disruptions. To achieve these goals, the mission will work with 200 local administrative units and regions. These actors will be given access to climate risk profiles and early warning systems, and help in adopting climate risk management plans. The regions shall come up with visions and innovative pathways to demonstrate resilience. The climate mission focuses on accelerating innovations and solutions directly with the regions rather than research activities.
The fourth mission board on Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coastal and Inland Waters proposes a mission to ‘Regenerate our Oceans and Waters by 2030’. The mission will address five areas: achieving zero ocean pollution, regeneration of habitats, decarbonising the blue economy, addressing the European and international governance of waters, and educating Europeans about oceans and water systems. It will look at the water system as a whole, from the source to the sink, as well as from glaciers to the Mediterranean and beyond. The proposed actions aim for the EU to take on a ‘blue leadership’ and address predominantly a policy level with respect to reusable plastics, protecting marine areas, increasing the use of renewable energies and stop fishing from altering the biodiversity. It remains so far unclear how the mission will concretely enhance citizen education or encourage research cooperation.
The last mission wants to create ‘100 Climate-Neutral Cities by 2030 – by and for the citizens’. It aims to support 100 European cities with contracts to accompany them through their transition towards climate neutrality. The cities shall become experimentation and innovation hubs and work as showcases for all European cities. Involving citizens will be an important component of the mission; they shall be trained as agents of change through bottom-up initiatives and new forms of governance. Unfortunately, the report does not yet give any practical details on the implementation and funding of the different activities.
Within Horizon Europe, 10% of the budget in the second pillar ‘Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’ have been allocated to the missions and calls for mission activities will also partly find their way into the work programmes. However, it is still unclear how the EC will translate the suggestions of the mission boards into research and innovation actions. It is clear though that successful missions will depend on a far greater amount of financing than the R&I framework programme. They will most likely seek support from national, regional or private funding sources.
Over summer, the proposals for the missions will undergo a consultation with citizens across Europe to ensure that they are relevant and can make a difference. For each mission, dedicated events will take place in two different countries. In addition, individuals can participate in different conferences and surveys in order to engage with the missions. The mission boards will hand over their final reports and recommendations to the EC in autumn on the second R&I Days, which will take place online from 22-24 September.
Missions are a novel element in Horizon Europe. They were conceived by former Commissioner Carlos Moedas and are a commitment to solving major societal challenges in a moon shot type approach. Missions will go far beyond research and innovation and shall create enthusiasm and spark innovation across sectors in order to deliver effective and sustainable solutions. They will also contribute substantially to achieving EU priorities such as the European Green Deal and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, as well as the United National Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).