Issue (WIWE) status: Submitted, Unpublished

Weak Signal's progress: Nominated

This Weak Signal came from: 
European Research Area (ERA) dimensions

The theme/scheme related to this Weak Signal: 
Research Institutions

The source of this Weak Signal: 
Report

Weak Signal's description: 

There is a gap in terms of funds received between Northern and Western countries on one hand and Eastern and some Southern countries on the other hand. Considering that the FP allocates funds on the basis of the quality of the proposal, the patterns observed may not apply exclusively to FP6, but to the wider context of measures promoting UIC. As other research activities, UIC tends to be a self-reinforcing phenomenon that favours already good performers. FP6 provides a good example of this asymmetric distribution. Northern and Western EU member states involved in FP projects engage more often in UIC and/or raise more funds out of each project with UIC. Other countries do not engage so often in projects with UIC or, if they do, they do not get so much average funding out of it. Therefore, at EU level, giving preference to UIC projects may have the unintended consequence of creating greater disparities between countries. In order to mitigate or reverse this consequence, accompanying measures would need to be put in place.