26 September 2024 – EMBO Members and other researchers convened at the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome to celebrate EMBO 60th anniversary in Italy, one of its founding countries. The event also provided an opportunity to reflect on past, present and future strategies for research funding in Europe and in Italy. EMBO Members in Italy exchanged ideas and sparked enthusiasm for launching a new initiative aimed at boosting Italian research.
Reflecting on the history of EMBO and European science policy, EMBO Director Fiona Watt highlighted the evolution of EMBO from an organization aimed to establish molecular biology in Europe to a global organization supporting research on the mechanisms of life at all levels, from single molecules to organisms and ecosystems, and via a variety of schemes and initiatives. Historian Francesco Cassata, Fellow of the Centro Linceo “B. Segre” of the Accademia dei Lincei, highlighted the role of EMBO as a model for the European Research Council (ERC) in terms of quality-based selection processes, trust within the scientific community, minimal bureaucracy and governmental support. David Irion, Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, presented the challenges of developing European communitarian research policies in the 1980s, which ultimately led to the establishment of the Framework Programmes, a crucial instrument in shaping European research. Inga Ulnicáne, policy scholar at the University of Birmingham, questioned whether competitiveness, a driving force in European research policy for more than 50 years, should be replaced by new strategies.
Addressing present challenges in research
The afternoon session, chaired by Maria Rescigno, Chair of the EMBO Council, addressed present challenges in European and Italian research. Strategies to reduce gender inequalities, such as time-banking systems and cascading quota models, were discussed by EMBO Member Michela Matteoli. While acknowledging Italy’s largest investment ever in research coming from the Next Generation EU Covid-19 Recovery Fund and the recent establishment of the Fondo Italiano per la Scienza (FIS), Andrea Ballabio, EMBO Member and former founding Director of the TIGEM institute in Naples, passionately advocated for the establishment of an independent national research agency lead by researchers. This proposal was enthusiastically echoed by other speakers in a round table dedicated to Italy’s future research strategies and chaired by science journalist Nicola Nosengo.
Balancing excellence and inclusivity in European research
Leszek Kazmarek, Chair of the EMBC, the intergovernmental funding body of EMBO, discussed balancing “excellence” with supporting research in all EU countries, highlighting the EMBO targeted support measures. Former EMBO Director and President of the ERC Maria Leptin emphasized the need to support both groundbreaking and incremental research. While the ERC supports the former, national governments ought to invest more in incremental research to build solid national research systems.
A call for collaboration
Roberto di Lauro and Manuela Raimondi, representing EMBO Members and ERC Grantees in Italy, called for continuous and structured collaboration between researchers and the Italian government to shape a robust national research system.
The event concluded on a high note, with great enthusiasm to draft a position paper aimed at driving the creation of a permanent conference of researchers in Italy, fostering long-term collaboration and strengthening the country’s research environment.
View the event programme: https://www.lincei.it/it/manifestazioni/embo-erc-conference
