The OECD’s STI Outlook 2025 reveals a rapid rise in research security measures, steering Europe toward more coordinated and strategic protection of science.
The OECD has recently released its Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2025, a biennial report that informs policymakers about key global science, technology and innovation (STI) developments and their policy implications. The 2025 edition examines how STI can drive transformative economic and societal change, how scientific cooperation is being shaped by geopolitics, and how science systems must adapt to new demands. The report examines the new policies and tools implemented in OECD nations and several major emerging economies to enhance the role of science and innovation in driving growth and addressing global and social challenges.
Global pressures are reshaping how governments think about science, technology and innovation, and the OECD STI Outlook 2025 makes clear why research security has moved to the forefront of policy debates in Europe. Disruptive emerging technologies, geopolitical competition, and economic security concerns are pushing STI systems into a shifting landscape where openness and security must be balanced. Governments can no longer treat knowledge protection and international collaboration as distinct agendas. They are building strategic capabilities in critical technologies while safeguarding sensitive research and steering cooperation through selective partnerships. This shift directly affects public research systems across OECD countries. The report stresses that safeguarding research does not require compromising excellence or fragmenting cooperation on global challenges. Instead, it calls for research security policies that are proportionate, precise, and developed with scientists, businesses, and public authorities.
New OECD data highlight the speed of this transformation. In 2025, countries introduced 250 research security initiatives, almost ten times the number in 2018, while the number of countries with such measures rose from 12 to 41. This rapid growth reflects a broader policy shift, with science and technology increasingly recognised not only as engines of innovation but also as pillars of national and economic security. The pick-up in research security efforts comes as the lines between scientific, economic, and national security blur. Many governments now align their STI policies with broader economic security goals, promoting critical and emerging technologies while protecting against knowledge leakage. According to the OECD STI Outlook 2025, defence-related R&D budgets have increased by 75% over the past decade, nearly twice the pace of overall R&D spending, and energy is the only other sector to see a comparable rise.
The EU’s strategic response
In response to these shifts, the EU is shaping a more coordinated and strategic approach to research security, as demonstrated at the first European Flagship Conference on Research Security held in Brussels in October 2025. Bringing together policymakers, experts, and practitioners from across Europe, the event signalled a clear shift towards more coordinated and operational research security measures. Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva set out a series of actions to implement the 2024 Council Recommendation, including a new European Centre of Expertise on Research Security and a biennial Research Security Monitor. The Commission also committed to closer international cooperation. With a public consultation on the forthcoming ERA Act now underway, stakeholders are debating how to embed research security into EU legislation in a way that sets minimum standards without overregulation. The Brussels conference therefore represented a key step in moving Europe’s research security principles toward practical and broader implementation.
The EU and OECD stay in close dialogue on research security to keep national and international approaches aligned. A key tool supporting this cooperation is the STIP Compass, a joint OECD–European Commission platform collecting qualitative and quantitative data on national STI policies. Its dedicated research security portal gathers policy initiatives from countries worldwide, offering a centralised resource to guide and inspire effective and coordinated measures.
Lastly, the outlook highlights how technologies such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum computing are converging, transforming innovation systems and creating new demands for policy support. At the same time, public investment in strategic fields has grown significantly, particularly in areas where competition between countries is intense and research outcomes can have both civilian and military applications. The report highlights the importance of focused policies that reflect industry realities and help bring different stakeholders together around common goals. It also shows how governments can improve planning, test new ideas, and build strategic knowledge to stay flexible in an uncertain and fast-changing world.