At present, a key question in Austrian science and research remains unanswered: what are the chances that the efforts of recent years to catch up in R&D were not in vain? In the field of research, technology and innovation (RTI), Austria made impressive progress by international standards until 2008, both in terms of the amount invested and the quality of effort. Austria's research and development (R&D) expenditures totalled some €7.8bn in 2010, boosting R&D investments to nearly 2.8% of Austria's GDP. The latter figure rose by 0.63 percentage points between 2000 and 2007, thus earning Austria a top position among other European countries.
In basic research, Austria is characterised by particularly strong individual fields of internationally recognised excellence, and our scientists have enjoyed remarkable success in the highly competitive procedures of the European Research Council (ERC). There is broad political consensus in Austria regarding the great importance of education, science and research. Despite the financial crisis and the resulting austerity measures, there is also widespread agreement that these areas must be considered high priorities and be funded appropriately. Accordingly, the federal budgets presented included proactive funding for education, science and research.
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