Politecnico di Torino Policy Forum Published in Science

The Politecnico di Torino is among the Italian institutions that contributed to a Policy Forum published in the scientific journal Science, dedicated to the reforms needed to strengthen innovation in Europe. Among the authors of the document, titled Enhancing Europe's Competitiveness by Empowering Researchers as Innovators, is Valentina Cauda, a professor in the Department of Applied Science and Technology at the Politecnico di Torino. [1]

Origins and contents of the document

The work stems from the experience of INPACT!, a network created in 2023 that brings together more than 120 researcher-innovators from over 20 countries in the European Research Area, most of them funded by the European Research Council (ERC). For Italy, in addition to the Politecnico di Torino, researchers from the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Bocconi University, the Politecnico di Milano and the Italian Institute of Technology also contributed. [1]

The Policy Forum examines the obstacles that can prevent scientific research from quickly turning into new technologies, products and companies, focusing in particular on Horizon Europe, the European Union's research and innovation programme for the 2021-2027 period. According to the authors, funding instruments remain fragmented and can create breaks in the transition from research to practical applications. [1]

Proposals

Among the proposals in the document is one to entrust the European Innovation Council (EIC) with the management of ERC Proof of Concept funding, in order to reduce administrative steps and ease the transition between different programmes. The authors also propose strengthening support for high-risk innovation in its early stages and directing more resources to the most promising projects. [1]

The Policy Forum also suggests simplifying the application procedures for European funding, with shorter applications and an evaluation focused on the quality of the idea and its potential use. It further proposes greater national support for projects that pass European evaluation successfully but fail to receive funding due to budget constraints, following the principle of the Seal of Excellence, the European quality mark that certifies the merit of proposals not funded under the programme for which they were submitted. [1]

The role of universities

According to the authors of the document, changing funding mechanisms would not be enough: universities should also create more favourable conditions for researchers to turn their discoveries into innovations. Among the proposals are greater recognition of entrepreneurship in academic careers, more effective management of intellectual property, and clearer paths toward patents, collaborations with companies and spin-offs. Valentina Cauda stresses in particular the importance of valuing, even at the national level, high-quality projects that fail to secure European funding for budgetary reasons. [1]

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Sources

CronacaQui Torino — 1 October 2026

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