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In a country where the Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research & Development (as a percentage of GDP) is
0.58% (Eurostat, 2007) - among the lowest in the European Union - the challenges faced by the Greek Research
& Innovation system are tremendous. Indeed, European countries going through a long recession tend to further
decrease their public investment in R&I, leading to a wider innovation divide between the Member States (28).
The ERC strategy of placing excellence and bottom-up frontier research at the heart of the European research
systems should act as an inspirational goal for the Greek national research efforts. Boosting the budget dedi-
cated to top-rate researchers - and especially younger talents that can be offered a long-term perspective – and
their pioneering ideas are key instruments for stimulating competitiveness and growth and the Greek economic
recovery. In this sense, Greece should streamline the level of public research funding for universities and re-
search organisations dedicated to competitive, merit-based, investigator-driven, exploratory research so as to
strengthen its capacity to generate knowledge and innovation and translate them into greater economic com-
petitiveness and well-being.
Based on the Innovation Union 2011 report (29), Greece should increase its R&D budget through the allocation
of Structural Funds to Research & Innovation and improve its R&I governance structures. It should also establish
a strategic R&I agenda that prioritises expenditure on research addressing societal challenges, on education
and on key R&I infrastructures. There is also an urgent need to delineate better financial measures for Research
and Innovation, in particular through R&D tax incentives, and different forms of support for innovative SMEs,
including venture capital and other instruments such as public procurement.
Greece is suffering a tremendous brain drain of young research talents. Outstanding younger researchers want
to work with leading scientists and scholars and tend to go to excellent research centres in their fields. However,
in order to better face the crisis, Greece needs to improve its knowledge-based society by attracting and retain-
ing more leading researchers, providing scientists and scholars with appealing career prospects, better skills
(specially for the business sector), removing obstacles to their mobility across sectors and countries and improv-
ing the links between research, education and industry (innovation).
Greek research institutions should make use of the available administrative and legal options in a flexible way
or adapt them so as to guarantee the scientific independence of young top researchers and make provision for
a competitive working environment that is equally attractive for nationals and non-nationals. To this end, and
considering its enormous archeological heritage, Greece should aim to become one of the hosting countries of
International top talents in this field.
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EKT as the Greek NCP for the ERC