The European Commission has officially approved the internal reorganization that defines the future DG Research and Innovation (DG RTD).
The structure of the Management will be substantially redefined. This reorganization, in force since June 1, concerns a third of the 1463 staff members who will change duties as well as relations dynamics with other parts of the Commission.
In an unprecedented move, the reorganization is destined to share responsibility for the development of the main parts of the future framework program – Horizon Europe, previously managed mainly by DG RTD, with other Commission directorates-general. Senior officials from the various Directorates General will meet regularly to plan the program together: if this working method (co-creation) is successful, it would represent a radical change with respect to the current system.
The published organization chart also confirms that DG RTD will maintain its direction for international cooperation which, although reorganized, will continue under Italian director Maria Cristina Russo. Instead, a new task force will be created under the leadership of the French director Jean-David Malo to manage the new European Innovation Council.
Another novelty of the reorganization is the internal matrix structure: instead of continuing with the usual Commission scheme of at least five management levels, the new organization eliminates a layer and causes its three deputies to manage large political sectors throughout the DG.