Interview with Vincent Fautrel, a development economist by training. He is now the Development Research Institute (IRD) Representative to the EU. IRD is a French research institute based in more than 50 countries in Latin America, the Caribbeans, Africa, Asia and Pacific, where it carries out research on global challenges linked to the implementation of the SDGs.
1. Do you consider the impact of research on society to be an important indicator of European research policies? Why?
For IRD, the impact of research on society is a major indicator of European research policies. IRD places at the heart of its work the production of knowledge that is useful to societies in the South and co-constructed with their actors. European policies, which increasingly value societal impact, are therefore consistent with our approach: inter- and intra-disciplinary research, focused on public policy, in social innovation and sustainable development. Measuring societal impact demonstrates the relevance and usefulness of research, particularly in contexts where needs are most acute.
2. Ideally, what would you like the future FP to achieve in terms of societal impact?
In my opinion, the ideal societal impact of the future framework program would be the ability of European research to generate sustainable change in response to major global challenges, particularly in countries in the Global South. This would involve: concrete solutions developed jointly with stakeholders in partner countries, so that the results directly meet local needs; integration of social sciences and humanities to understand contexts, support change, and ensure ownership of innovations; clear support for public policies, thanks to robust data, decision-making tools, and operational recommendations. It is important that societal impact can be measured against the SDGs, particularly those related to climate, health, biodiversity, food security, and reducing inequalities.
3. How could the European Union concretely improve the societal impact of FP10?
The EU could improve the societal impact of FP10 by acting on several key levers:
– Strengthening co-construction with actors in beneficiary countries through greater involvement from the outset in the design of calls for scientific, institutional, NGO, and community partners.
– Place greater emphasis on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches by further integrating the voice of civil society and local knowledge to support transformations that are accepted by citizens.
– Support capacity building in partner countries by funding training, scientific infrastructure, and equitable scientific partnerships.
– Continue to encourage Open Science and access to data, enabling broader ownership of results and increasing opportunities for societal impact.
4. Can the EU FP both respond to societal challenges such as climate change and fighting pandemics and increasing Europe’s competitiveness? If so, how?
In my view, Europe’s competitiveness must be considered in broad terms, as it also relates to our societies’ ability to respond to global challenges such as climate change and pandemics. Research into these global challenges should also be seen as a driver of our competitiveness. We must therefore stop separating or even opposing them, but rather consider that these challenges are in fact complementary. For example, by being a leader in green technologies and global health issues, Europe can more easily impose international environmental and health standards and promote sustainable economic models.
5. If you could change three things in the next framework program, what would they be?
- Continue to strengthen the role of equitable scientific partnerships between Europe and countries in the Global South: include more explicitly co-constructed calls, promote the scientific leadership of partners in the South by encouraging them to position themselves as coordinators, support joint scientific infrastructures, and more systematically integrate capacity building. This would improve the relevance and sustainability of the impacts.
- Better recognize and fund interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to produce solutions that are truly applicable to complex societal challenges.
- Simplify procedures and reduce the administrative burden to make access easier for research institutes in the Global South, NGOs, communities, and small organizations.
These are all recommendations that IRD is bringing to the attention of European institutions through the ERASuD Alliance (European Research Alliance for Sustainable Development), which brings together 12 research organizations from seven European countries. The year 2026 will be a key year for attempting to influence the contours of the EU’s next framework program for research and innovation (FP10), as well as the program related to the Union’s external action (Global Europe).
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