“Research should be sustained will all possible means, including philanthropy.” With this statement the EU Commissioner in charge of Science and Research Janez Potocnik presented on December 4 the European Forum on Philanthropy and Research Funding in Brussles, launched by the Communities for and initial 3-year phase in order to “organize research funding by existing philanthropic bodies addressing issues pertaining to the legal, fiscal, and regulation sectors as also other aspects related to ethics and governance“. According to Potocnik, the importance of the initiative is related to the fact that “the philanthropic sector in Europe is under-developed and under-estimated, especially if compared to the United States”. According to estimates, European research philanthropic funding is below 3%, compared to 5% in the U.S. The Forum Pilot Commission, a decision and coordination body, is represented by members of the European Foundation Centre and by the European University Association.
