2.2. Rationale and Union added value

Radical breakthroughs with a transformative impact increasingly rely on intense collaboration across disciplines in science and technology (for instance, information and communication, biology, bioengineering and robotics, chemistry, physics, mathematics, medicine modelling, Earth system sciences, material sciences, neuro- and cognitive sciences, social sciences or economics) and with the arts, behavioural sciences and humanities. This may require not only excellence in science and technology but also new attitudes and novel interactions between a broad range of players in research. While some ideas can be developed on a small scale, others may be so challenging that they require a large collaborative effort over a substantial period of time. Major economies worldwide have recognised this, and there is growing global competition to identify and pursue emerging technological opportunities at the frontier of science which can generate a considerable impact on innovation and benefits for society. To be effective, these types of activities may need to be built up quickly to a large scale by a common European effort around common goals to build critical mass, foster synergies and obtain optimal leveraging effects. FET shall address the entire spectrum of science-driven innovation: from bottom-up, small-scale early explorations of embryonic and fragile ideas to building new research and innovation communities around transformative emerging research areas and large collaborative research initiatives built around a research agenda aiming to achieve ambitious and visionary goals. These three levels of engagement each have their own specific value, while being complementary and synergistic. For example, small-scale explorations can reveal needs for developing new themes that can lead to large-scale action based on appropriate roadmaps. They may involve a wide range of research players, including young researchers and research-intensive SMEs, and stakeholder communities (civil society, policymakers, industry and public researchers), clustered around evolving research agendas as they take shape, mature and diversify.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-03 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.