In line with the drive to build a strong European economy capable of competing in an increasingly globalised work, the Europe 2020 Strategy, launched in 2010, called for the completion of the European Research Area (ERA) through the Innovation Union Flagship Initiative, thus reconfirming Europe’s commitment to the achievement of a unified area where knowledge and information flows freely and where talent is nurtured and knowledge exploited for the benefit of society and the economy.
Subsequently, the February 2014 Competitiveness Conclusions on the 2013 ERA Progress Report called for the Member States to develop an ERA Roadmap at European level by mid-2015 through the European Research & Innovation Area Committee (ERAC) in order to identify and target those top actions which would have the greatest impact and success towards the full realisation and implementation of a fully functioning ERA. Following the adoption of the ERAC Opinion on the European Research Area Roadmap 2015-2020,
a further set of Council Conclusions (May 2015) on the Roadmap called on Member States to implement the top action priorities identified in the ERA Roadmap through action plans or strategies by mid-2016. The preparation of National ERA Roadmaps was encouraged and supported by ERAC within the context of Member State ownership, in order to tailor each national roadmap to the realities and priorities of the Member States. Thus while the ERA Roadmap identified EU high level priorities and top actions, it was recognised that national research and innovation systems across Europe have different characteristics and so each Member State can tailor its ERA Roadmap to its own needs.
Malta’s National ERA Roadmap is a complementary document to the National Research and Innovation Strategy and Action Plan 2020. Malta’s R&I Strategy reiterates Malta’s commitment to the achievement of a well-functioning European Research Area, recognising that this represents an opportunity to capitalise on the strength of the single market. Therefore, several of the ERA priorities are already echoed in the National Strategy and have been translated into actions which fit Malta’s contextual framework. Thus, in a sense, Malta’s R&I Strategy already provided a lot of the context for the preparation of Malta’s National ERA Roadmap.
Nonetheless, in 2016, the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST), the body responsible for the drafting of the Strategy, Action Plan and ERA Roadmap, engaged with key stakeholders and the delegates on the ERA-related groups, to ensure a concerted approach to the development of Malta’s ERA Roadmap and to mobilise players towards the forthcoming implementation phase.
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This article was last updated on: April 6, 2017