European higher education set for stimulus funding bonanza

European universities are set to enjoy a wave of new funding as countries prioritise research and education in colossal stimulus packages designed to repair the damage wrought by coronavirus.

About €6.5 billion (£6 billion) has been earmarked for higher education and research over the next three years in France, which will nearly double the budget of the country’s National Research Agency (ANR) and add an extra 30,000 university places.

"It’s the first time in maybe 50 years that we’ve had the [necessary] money for research in France,” said Olivier Laboux, vice-president of the Conference of University Presidents (CPU). “It’s huge news.”

The money is part of a €100 billion stimulus package, partly funded by new borrowing at European Union level, to help France recover from the economic collapse triggered by the pandemic. It amounts to about a third of the normal state budget.

According to the country’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the new money available for research is “unprecedented” in France’s post-war history.

Included in the plan is an extra €400 million for the ANR, long plagued by low grant application success rates. The aim is to boost them from the current 16 per cent to 25 per cent.

Another €3.1 billion over three years is set to go on various research excellence initiatives, with the aim of improving campuses, and financing labs and large-scale projects.

There is also €4 billion available to make public sector buildings more energy efficient, in order to hit emissions targets. With universities accounting for 40 per cent of this footprint, according to the CPU, they should be in line for a major refurbishment.

France’s spending bonanza is the first sign that €700 billion of EU stimulus spending will find its way into universities and research organisations. Forty per cent of the country’s €100 billion package will come from the bloc’s Recovery Plan for Europe, brokered by national leaders last month.

In the Netherlands too, higher education and research is set to benefit from a recently announced National Growth Fund, worth €20 billion over the next five years.

Although the details of how the fund will be spent are yet to be hammered out, the three key priorities are education, research and development, and infrastructure.

University presidents are among those on the committee deciding how the money will be distributed.

The Association of Universities in the Netherlands welcomed the announcement, saying that it was “very positive about the prominent position of knowledge” in the plans.

david.matthews@timeshighereducation.com