The Commission published a report that analyses the EU’s innovation performance in a broader context and provides policy guidelines for R&I.
On 5 July 2022, the European Commission (EC) released the 2022 edition of the Science, Research and Innovation Performance (SRIP) report, which analyses the EU’s performance in these domains in a global context. The SRIP report “combines an indicator-based analysis with deep dives into topical policy issues”, combining research and innovation (R&I) with economics and finance considerations. The topic of the latest report is “Building a sustainable future in uncertain times”, addressing themes like preparedness and resilience in the global context of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The report highlights how R&I policies are essential for the creation of a more inclusive, sustainable, competitive and resilient Europe. On 12 July 2022, the EC organised a virtual launch event in which the key findings of the SRIP report were presented and discussed with high-level speakers.
The 2022 SRIP report points out how the EU remains a key player in scientific production and technological output worldwide. Although the EU only represents 6% of the world’ population, they account for about 18% of the global R&I investments and 21% of the world’s top-cited scientific publications. Furthermore, the EU leads in terms of technological output in the field of climate, with 23% of global patent applications in this field coming from the EU. The EU’s technological output in other fields is also relatively high, for example in bioeconomy (23%) and health (17%).
However, important trading partners of the EU have been growing at a much faster pace in recent years than the EU and have significantly improved their innovation performance. This is most likely linked to the declining R&I investments during the global pandemic, especially in sectors such as aerospace (-22.6%), automotive (-7.2%), chemicals (-3.7%), and information and communication technologies (-3.6%). Therefore, innovation and economic growth are expected to be gravely affected in the future, thus calling for a new approach and policy change to improve the EU’s competitiveness. In response, the EC adopted a New European Innovation Agenda on 5 July 2022 to improve the EU’s position as an important player in the field of deep tech innovation and start-ups.
The findings in the SRIP report lead to six main policy guidelines for the EU’s R&I policy: i. Build forward better in a post-pandemic world; ii. (Re)gain competitiveness; iii. Think the “unthinkable” (and be ready for it); iv. Leverage businesses, institutions and people; v. connect actors and address disparities; vi. Ensure R&I-friendly conditions. The report is structured in two parts: Part I focuses on R&I dynamics and R&I levers and enablers, providing information for the formulation of the six main policy guidelines.
Each chapter in Part I starts out with a brief overview presenting the key questions, key findings and the implications for policy. The seven chapters provide an overview of the following issues: i. the COVID-19 crisis; ii. the EU’s global position in terms of R&I and trends within the EU; iii. the promotion of sustainability through R&I; iv. productivity, business dynamism and digital skills; v. the role of investment in R&I; vi. the EU’s scientific output, international collaboration and mobility, and the economic impact of innovation; vii. challenges regarding access to financing of innovation.
Part II provides further concrete inputs for R&I policy in the EU, covering a range of issues and providing a brief summary at the start of each chapter. The eight chapters cover the following aspects: i. a policy toolkit to increase R&I within the EU; ii. intangible investments during times of crisis and the link to industrial performance; iii. R&I policies for the green transition; iv. opportunities and challenges linked to using artificial intelligence (AI) for reaching the sustainable development goals (SDGs); v. the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on productivity growth; vi. the level of investment in the twin digital and green transitions in cohesion regions (less developed and transition regions); vii. the spatial concentration of innovation depending on EU regional ecosystems; viii. the path between scientific research and commercialisation of the final product.
The 2022 edition is the fourth edition of the biennial publication by the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD). The report was drafted by authors from DG RTD as well as external experts, and the co-creation process was led by Alexandr Hobza and Erik Canton from DG RTD.