French agency head wants ‘goal-oriented’ basic research in FP10

And further extension of association status should be encouraged, says CNRS president Antoine Petit

The president of the CNRS, France’s multidisciplinary research agency, has urged the EU to incorporate the view in its next research and innovation programme that “fundamental research must not only be ‘curiosity-driven’ but also ‘goal-oriented’”.

Antoine Petit said that the CNRS’s experience of working in collaboration with companies of all sizes “contradicts the idea that the needs of companies are limited to innovation issues at an advanced stage of development. Companies also need fundamental research and cooperation with academic players to anticipate and prepare for tomorrow’s innovations.”