BRUSSELS, 3/12/2025 — On 3 December 2025, the entire community of stakeholders from co-funded, co-programmed, and institutionalised European Partnerships gathered in Brussels for the European Partnership Stakeholder Forum 2025.
Titled “Re-imagining Partnerships: the Road to FP10”, the event provided a key moment to reflect on the future role of European Partnerships within the next Framework Programme (2028–2034), building on lessons learned during the current programming period.
The Forum opened with a high-level keynote by Marc Lemaître, Director-General of DG RTD, followed by a presentation of the European Commission’s proposal for FP10 by Pauline Rouch (DG RTD). These contributions set the scene for an in-depth discussion on how partnerships can remain strategic, impactful, and coherent in a changing policy and funding landscape.
A first plenary panel, “Shaping Collaboration: European Partnerships under FP10”, brought together representatives from the European Commission, national ministries, research councils, business, and regional networks. The discussion focused on collaboration models, governance, and the added value of partnerships for Europe’s research and innovation ecosystems.
The afternoon featured four parallel workshops addressing core challenges for the partnership community: impact assessment, synergies and cooperation, innovation and market uptake, and phasing-out strategies. These sessions enabled hands-on exchange of practices and generated concrete insights to strengthen partnership performance and sustainability beyond Horizon Europe.
The day concluded with a second high-level panel on building a coherent and strategic portfolio of European Partnerships, informed by the work of the new “Commission Expert Group on the Design and Selection of Directional Initiatives”. Discussions highlighted the need for clearer strategic orientation, better coordination, and a long-term vision in shaping the future partnership landscape under FP10.
More information, including slides and recordings, is available on the event’s webpage: https://www.era-learn.eu/news-events/events/european-partnership-stakeholder-forum-2025