Recommendation 136

When we asked Minister Lochhead how much of a risk there was that the UK, and therefore Scotland, will lose influence over Horizon and benefit from its contributions going forward, he told us that was “a real concern that has been expressed by the sector”, especially as projects based in the EU may look like a “more attractive destination” for Horizon collaborations.320 Not only might the UK now look like a less attractive place for Horizon collaboration, but Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows made the point to us that UK applications for Horizon funding had decreased in recent years: While Scotland has traditionally done very well at securing competitive research funding from the EU, analysis has shown that the UK’s annual share of EU research funding has fallen by half a billion Euros since 2015 and there has been a 40% drop in UK applications to Horizon Europe. Substantial work will be needed to encourage UK researchers to take up the opportunities that association to Horizon Europe provides.321