A worrying bellwether for 'Global Britain'? Analysis of Horizon2020 grants by @ben_osswald
@jochenpierk shows that UK business international collaborations via the program DOWN by nearly 50% - while other EU nations are UP - my latest via @ft /2 https://www.ft.com/content/ed2e508e-cfcf-4469-ab28-a26dffbb4d5e?shareType=nongift

You can read the whole paper here, but below is a key chart for what they found on business collaborations - UK had 15,900 international research partners in Europe in 2016...that figure had fallen to 8,300 by 2019 /2

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3703590

At the same time - see raw data table below - collaboration of the three major advanced EU economies (France, Germany, Italy) all went up by between a third and a quarter. /3

Even tho UK voted to leave in 2016, UK companies have remained eligible for Horizon2020 grants (the flagship €80bn EU research scheme) are remain eligible. The govt also wants UK biz and unis to be able to participate in next prog HorizonEurope /4

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/horizon-2020-what-it-is-and-how-to-apply-for-funding?gclid=CMb-2KjSk-wCFUR0GwodimcMRA#what-happens-after-eu-exit-on-31-january-2020

Even though the total sums are a fraction of total R&D spend, this is basically 'free money' and a good proxy for activity, per @jochenpierk ....and the drop-off compared to EU rivals also worry. UK trade groups agree... /5

The research can't say why the collaborations have fallen - but political uncertainty is assumed to be one reason...as UK disappears behind a customs & regulatory barrier, with no Freedom of Movement, does that make it a more complex/less appetising partner for collaboration? /6

The CBI @felicityburch @CBItweets and the manufacturers group @MakeUK_ CEO Stephen Phipson and @britishchambers @Suren_Thiru all said the figures are "worrying" and "disappointing" - and say the sooner we have clarity the better. /7

Anecdotally, I have spoken to a number of businesses who say that the 'hassle factor' is not to be underestimated - partners and clients in the EU saying that they just don't have bandwidth to deal with new systems, even if they work. More to come on that... 8/ENDS