Your Chance to Have Your Say on FP8

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is consulting the sector on what shape, and what focus, FP8 should have. In his introdcution to the consultation document David Willets said that 'we would like to see the programme develop in the future so it becomes less bureaucratic; more attractive to participants, especially businesses; and achieves demonstrable impact in terms of high value goods and service and improved policy-making.'

But what do you think? The document poses 42 questions, including:

• What should the UK’s high-level objectives be for FP8?
• How can FP8 support innovation in the UK?
• What are your views on the split of the FP7 budget between specific programmes? Should this change in FP8?
• Which areas of Framework Programme funding provide the most EU added-value? And which the least?
• Can efficiencies be found in the Framework Programme because of overlaps between different areas of funding?
• Which grand challenges are best tackled on an EU-wide rather than a national level? Within these areas which particular aspects would benefit from an interdisciplinary focus?
• How should FP8 engage with countries outside the EU?
• Should ERC’s current emphasis on funding a single investigator continue into FP8?
  

The full consultation document is available here, and you have until 4 January 2011 to respond, so make sure your views are heard and reply now!