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In the Council of Ministers this Wednesday, the government approved the new Research Strategy 2030 and the “Pact for Research, Technology and Innovation” (RTI Pact) provided for in the new Research Financing Law. This pact provides a total of 3,860 million euros for the ten most important research funding agencies and non-university research institutions for the years 2021 to 2023, 27 percent more than for the period 2018 to 2020.
In 2010, the then federal government decided on an RTI strategy with the goal of increasing spending on research and development (R&D) to 3.76 percentage points of GDP (“research share”) by 2020 and in one of the top rankings, the “European Innovation Scoreboard” (EIS) to advance in the group of “Leaders in innovation”. Neither was successful: Austria ranks 8th in the EIS in 2020 and is therefore one of the “strong innovators”, the research share was 3.18 percent of GDP the previous year. However, with these research expenses, Austria ranks second in the EU.
Desire for “increased production”
“The RTI 2030 Strategy is based on a clear commitment to efficiency and increased production,” said the ministerial conference of the Federal Chancellery and the three research departments (ministries of education, economy and climate protection) that prepared the document. . In this, the strategic direction for the next ten years is specified in the form of three overarching goals: Austria should catch up with the most important international field and RTI’s location should be strengthened (goal 1), the focus should be on the effectiveness and excellence (goal 2) and the focus should be on knowledge, talents and skills (goal 3).
To achieve these goals, eight “fields of action” are defined in RTI’s comparatively lean 16-page strategy (2010 was 48 pages). These range from expanding research infrastructure to promoting excellent basic research and using RTI to achieve climate goals to developing and promoting human resources.
Specific indicators are provided for each of the three goals: for example, Goal 1 is to move up to fifth place in the EIS, five to ten RTI-intensive lead startups should be hired, and the number of companies doing R&D it will constantly increase by 20 percent. Objective 2 aims to achieve a “gradual increase in R&D spending based on GDP” to be in the top 5 globally (currently 7th in the OECD ranking). Additionally, venture capital spending will increase from 0.02% to 0.1% of GDP and the number of economically successful academic spin-offs will double. And for Goal 3, the share of graduates in MINT subjects (math, information, science, and technology) will increase by 20 percent. The goal is also to place two universities in the top 100 in the “Times Higher Education Ranking”; currently only the University of Vienna is in the top 200.
“Focus on efficiency and excellence”
RTI’s strategy, which is ten-year oriented, should then, like the Research Financing Act (Fofinag) passed this year, come to life every three years in the form of an RTI pact through concrete measures. The government is making a total of 3,860 million euros available for the first RTI pact for the years 2001 to 2023. The corresponding budget lines were already set when the federal budget was decided in autumn. “Overall, we want to strengthen Austria as a place for RTI, focus on efficiency and excellence in research, and spark enthusiasm for science and research,” explains Education Minister Heinz Faßmann (ÖVP) in a statement sent to the APA. Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) sees research and innovation as “an important lever in the fight against the climate crisis.” The strategy helps Austria “become a pioneer in climate protection”. An investment of one euro in the RTI zone causes an increase in GDP of up to six euros in the long term, says Economy Minister Margarete Schramböck (ÖVP): “That is why we have also agreed to increase the impact of research spending and public funds use it more precisely and efficiently. ” (apa)
