Ministries, Regions and public and private stakeholders contributed to the document. It is a multiannual framework programming tool designed to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the European Commission's priorities, the 2021-27 Cohesion Policy Objectives and the Next Generation EU initiative. The system priorities identified are: to support the widespread and inclusive growth of the research system, to consolidate fundamental research, to strengthen interdisciplinary research, to guarantee the centrality of the individual in innovation, to enhance the circulation of knowledge and skills between the research model and the production system, to accompany the development of a new generation of researchers, technologists and knowledge transfer professionals, to promote the international dimension of higher education and research, to ensure the coordination of national and international European research.

The NRP 2021-27 is divided into system priorities, major research and innovation areas, and related areas of intervention, national plans, and missions.

The six major research and innovation areas and their focus areas reflect the six clusters of Horizon Europe, the European Research and Innovation Framework Programme 2021-27, and consider the National Smart Specialisation Strategy areas. The main areas of research and innovation are structured at a more refined granularity level (28 areas of intervention) and broken down in line with the national context's specific features highlighted by the administrations' consultation and contributions. The National Plan for Research Infrastructures and the National Plan for Open Science are an integral part of the 2021-27 NRP.

Missions are multi-sectoral initiatives aimed at achieving ambitious and concrete objectives within a defined timeframe through research-driven intervention policies guided by data and scientific evidence. They encompass all stages of a process, from research to ultimate application, across various scientific fields and domains.