Highlights from the Austrian ERA Stakeholder Forum

On 30 April 2025, the Ministry of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Women, Science and Research jointly hosted the Austrian ERA Stakeholder Forum. The event brought together key players from Austria’s research and innovation (R&I) ecosystem to shape discussions around the next Austrian ERA National Action Plan for 2026–2028 (ERA-NAP).

Henriette Spyra (Director General, Ministry of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure) and Barbara Weitgruber (Director General, Ministry of Women, Science and Research) opened the event with remarks underscoring the critical role of the EU, research, and innovation in Austria’s new government programme, which highlights Austria’s 'pioneering role in the ERA'. Building on this position is seen as particularly important in the light of global challenges that increasingly threaten the freedom and autonomy of scientific research.

The agenda included an overview of the upcoming ERA Policy Agenda for 2025–2027 and Austria’s alignment with its goals, supporting key actions and structural policies. Moreover, synergies between OECD initiatives and ERA objectives were discussed, highlighting collaboration in areas like research careers and research security. Key findings from the evaluation of Austria’s first ERA-NAP 2022–2025 were also presented, offering reflections on achievements and identifying areas for improvement.

At the heart of the event were two rounds of interactive Brainwalk sessions, providing a dynamic platform for in-depth discussions on key topics for the next ERA-NAP:

• In the first round, topics included Knowledge Valorisation, Open Science, Research Integrity, Research Management, and Science for Policy.
• The second round introduced themes such as AI in Science, Research Careers & Research Assessment, Trust in Science, and global approaches to research and innovation, incl. research security.

The forum concluded with closing remarks and reflections on the next steps, including an update on the European Commission’s ERA Act.

To sum up, this year’s Austrian ERA Stakeholder Forum focused on collaboration and common efforts to discuss the design of the next ERA-NAP and highlighted once again the strong commitment of Austria’s R&I community to research, innovation, and its central role in the European Research Area.