Research strategy & funding

As an alliance of excellent performing life-science research institutes in Europe, EU-LIFE is committed to teaming up with European institutions and relevant stakeholders to promote better research value in and for Europe. This includes contributing to the public debate and working directly with policymakers for the development of research strategies and concomitant frameworks that deliver science-based solutions to the citizens.

Special attention has been given in participating at an early stage in European-level dialogue on EU framework programmes in many ways, i.e.:

providing input to policymakers and advocating for our vision on key priorities;
reinforcing scientific excellence;
creating a broader definition of impact to support breakthrough scientific discoveries;
investing in efficient models to connect research and professional knowledge transfer;
enabling outstanding science and innovation in all corners of Europe;
attracting and training the next generation of scientists.

EU-LIFE makes regular contributions to help shape the European research landscape, particularly with regard to excellent science in Europe, the successive framework programmes for research and innovation, and the development of the European Research Council (ERC). Some of our latest actions are highlighted below.

Excellent science in Europe

Providing input to the European Commission about how to strengthen Europe's competitiveness through the European Life Sciences Strategy
Sharing EU-LIFE views on research excellence from an institutional perspective through position papers and reports such as "The future of European research: 5 key actions for a competitive Europe"
Contributing to the European Research Area
Engaging in the European's Commission policy dialogue regularly, including the participation in high-level meettings and the publication of position papers and open letters to commissioners.
Advocating for the role of independent research institutes with initiatives like the publication of the EU-LIFE Charter of Independent Life Science Research Institutes
Standing for UK’s participation in Horizon Europe through direct contact with political leaders, our own statements and different joint actions with other stakeholders such as the #DealForScience and the #StickToScience campaigns. We also released a joint statement addressed to the European Commission by over 200 institutions representing the European research and innovation community
Engaging in dialogue about innovative technologies and scientific methodologies that raise ethical concerns through initiatives such as the European Sustainable Agriculture through Genome Editing (SAGE) and “The use of animals for the generation of high-quality antibodies remains necessary for research and therapeutic applications”

EU Framework programmes

Putting forward recommendations and conveying EU-LIFE's vision for FP10:
- Towards FP10: EU-LIFE’s guiding principles for FP10
- Towards FP10: EU-LIFE’s vision for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
- Towards FP10: EU-LIFE’s vision for the European Innovation Council (EIC)
- Towards FP10: EU-LIFE reply to High-Level Group Consultation on HE and FP10
Providing input into the formulation of the concept of the European Innovation Council
Contributing regularly in the shaping of the Horizon Europe programme
Taking part in joint advocacy campaigns such as We need much more MSCA and Research Matters
Involvement in the discussions on Health Cluster strategic programming with several papers and statements such as the “EU-LIFE calls for impactful collaborative research in European biomedicine”
Reacting to the Horizon Europe’s Cancer Mission proposal by issuing a statement and additional recommendations
Participating as stakeholders in European Commission events in the design of the EU4Health Programme
Promoting geographical diversity by raising the visibility of the EU-LIFE institutes based in widening countries

ERC

Supporting ERC’s vision and priorities, and enrolling in regular discussions about its mission
Nominating ERC members and president, in the context of our regular actions in search of opportunities for researchers to play prominent roles in EU policy
Submitting concrete proposals on challenging aspects of ERC
Conducting public campaigns with ERC and other stakeholders with the aim to give visibility to ERC’s impact in science and society

European innovation

Contributing to the concept and implementation of the European Innovation Council (EIC), interacting regularly with EIC:
Putting forward recommendations and conveying EU-LIFE's vision for the EU innovation ecosystem:
Interacting regularly with innovation leaders of the biotech sector, such as the 'Fundamental research for a global world' exchange session held during the EU-LIFE Strategy Meeting 2025 in Copenhagen, and the 'Fundamental science for EU competitiveness' social media campaign.
Sharing technology transfer good practices among the EU-LIFE member institutes through the work of the EU-LIFE Tech Transfer Working Group (TT WG), including the annual EU-LIFE Pitching Event to provide scientists with opportunities to talk confidentially to venture capitalists, receive feedback on their ideas, and gain insight about how to establish a new venture.