The European Union is falling further and further behind other major economies in terms of R&D funding that could drive the future technology frontiers. According to a recent report, this gap is mainly caused by large differences in private R&D investment, which highlights the need for the EU to create better conditions for stimulating private sector engagement in research & innovation.
Some of the observations:
1) The EU has increased its R&D investments over the past two decades. Yet a gap remains to some of its main competitors, and the EU’s relative weight in the global R&D landscape is decreasing.
2) The financing gap between the EU and the US is observed at all stages of development but remains more prominent in the scale-up phase.
3) The technological gap between the EU and other key players in strategic productivity-enhancing technologies persists, especially in digital fields such as AI, internet of things, blockchain technologies, quantum computers, etc.
See the full European Commission report here:
In the coming months, we will start exploring regional differences in shaping future technology frontiers and what the private and public sector can do to accelerate research & innovation outputs. Stay tuned.
Frontiers of Technology 