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Managing National and European R&D Projects in the Rail Sector: A Case Study of Research Project Management and Science-Industry Collaboration Cover

Managing National and European R&D Projects in the Rail Sector: A Case Study of Research Project Management and Science-Industry Collaboration

Marketing of Scientific and Research Organizations
Volume 58 (2025): Issue 4 (December 2025)
By:   
Open Access
|Jul 2026
Figures & tables

Figures & Tables

Figure 1.

R&D expenditure in the EU. Source: own study based on data published on the website of the National Contact Point: www.kpk.pl [accessed on 4 March 2026].

Figure 2.

Thematic areas of the Shif2Rail Programme. Source: own study based on Shift2Rail Multi-Annual Work Programme available at http://shift2rail.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/MAAP-5nal_5nal.pdf [accessed on 6 March 2026].

Table 1

Selected European and national research programmes and instruments dedicated to the railway sector in 2020–2027.

YearsProgrammeLevelType of R&D projectsThematic scopeBeneficiaries
2020–2023Horizon 2020 – TransportEUIndustrial research, experimental developmentRailway systems, interoperability, safetyInternational consortia
2020–2023Shift2Rail Joint UndertakingEUResearch, demonstrationERTMS, automation, railway technologiesInternational consortia
2021–2027Europe’s Rail Joint UndertakingEUResearch, demonstrationDigitalisation, automation, traffic managementInternational consortia
2020–2025BRIK IIPLIndustrial research, experimental developmentDiagnostics, infrastructure, safetyScience– industry consortia
2020–2025NCBR – Fast TrackPLIndustrial research, experimental developmentTransport, including railwayEnterprises, consortia
2020–2025NCBR sectoral programmesPLR&D, demonstrationTransport innovationsIndustry, science

[i] Source: own elaboration based on documents of the European Commission, programme materials of Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, documentation of Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking and Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, as well as data from the National Centre for Research and Development

[ii] Abbreviations: ERTMS – European Rail Traffic Management System.

Table 2

Comparison of ERJU and BRIK programme instruments in the context of R&D project management.

CriterionERJUBRIKManagerial implications
Partnership modelinternationalnationalmulti-level vs national coordination
Management levelinternational consortianational consortiacomplexity of relationships
Project scalelarge, systemicmedium, problem-orientedstrategic vs operational
Formalisationhigh (EU)high (national)higher administrative burden in EU
EvaluationExcellence, Impact, ImplementationNCBR + partnerEU focus on impact
Funding modelreimbursement-basedgrant-based + partner contributiongreater stability in BRIK
Funding intensitydepends on entity typeup to 100% (science)lower risk in BRIK
StrategyEU transformationnational infrastructurelong-term vs implementation-oriented
Risk levelhighmoderateproject management approach
Implementationindirectdirectstronger implementation in BRIK
Institutional positioninternationalisationnationalprestige vs relationships

[i] Source: own elaboration based on EU and NCBR data.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/minib-2025-0015 | Journal eISSN: 2353-8414 | Journal ISSN: 2353-8503
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Language: English
Page range: 1 - 17
Submitted on: Mar 11, 2026
Accepted on: Jun 14, 2026
Published on: Jul 29, 2026
Published by: ŁUKASIEWICZ RESEARCH NETWORK – INSTITUTE OF AVIATION
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
research and development projects,
project management,
rail transport,
technology transfer,
innovation management,
science–industry collaboration
Related subjects:
Business and economics,
Business management,
Marketing, sales, customer relations,
Management, organization, corporate governance,
Business development, change management, cooperation,
Key competences in scholarly research

© 2026 Renata Maria Barcikowska, published by ŁUKASIEWICZ RESEARCH NETWORK – INSTITUTE OF AVIATION
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 58 (2025): Issue 4 (December 2025)
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