Horizon Europe implementation strategy - Novelties
Horizon Europe implementation objectives
- Maximizing impact
- Ensuring greater transparency and further simplification
- Fostering synergies with other EU spending programs
- Easing access through digital transformation and outreach
The new European funding scheme, Horizon Europe, will start in 2021. The five missions of Horizon Europe have been defined, and the European Commission has presented the main novelties of Horizon Europe.
But this is all about the general orientation of research, and you may wonder what concrete changes to expect regarding project writing and management.
Let’s explore the practical changes in Horizon Europe implementation compared to H2020 together!
Horizon Europe implementation: maximizing impact
Excellence science is, of course, the basis of Horizon Europe. Still, the EU’s main objective is to solve societal challenges, meaning that the research must have a real IMPACT on the citizens. The European Commission has set up measures to try to maximize this impact.
Expected impact
- The targeted impact will be given at the level of a call instead of giving them for each topic as it was in H2020. Only the expected outcomes will be specified for each topic.
- The participants will have more access to the targeted impact with fewer prescriptive topics.
- For some funding, instead of selecting each project independently, a coherent portfolio of projects will be financed to ensure that all the aspects of the call are covered without any gaps or overlaps. First, the projects will be ranked independently, and the funded projects will be chosen among the best proposals to form a consistent whole.
- An exploitation, dissemination, and communication plan will be expected six months after the beginning of the project.
- The exploitation of the project’s results in the 12 months after the end of the project will be expected. If this is not the case, publishing the results on the Horizon Europe platform will be mandatory. The EU will require a written justification of the non-exploitation of the results.
Better dissemination of results
Three tools are already in place to allow a better sharing of the knowledge:
- Horizon dashboard: one-stop-shop for data and statistics on EU-funded research. It covers FP7 and H2020 program data.
- Horizon Results Platform: to allow the EU beneficiaries to advertise the results of their research and to look for investors, collaborators, entrepreneurs, and institutions to take the research one step further and maximize the chance to create value from the funded projects.
- Horizon results boosters: free consulting services to help project beneficiaries identify the outcomes to valorize and help them reach the market. Three boosters are available: Portfolio Dissemination and exploitation strategy, business plan development, and go-to-market support.
Horizon Europe implementation: Ensuring greater transparency and further simplification
The European Commission noticed that the funding scheme may seem a bit obscure to the participants. Cumbersome and complex procedures can lead some institutions to give up participating in projects. That is why one of the focuses of Horizon Europe is to go towards more simplification of the process.
Proposal writing
- The maximum number of pages will be substantially reduced.
- Consequently, the number of elements to include in the proposal will also be reduced (the management structure may be in the annex, for example).
- More frequent use of two-stage calls to facilitate the work of the reviewers.
- For the two-stage calls, the first stage will be even shorter (and may be focused only on excellence).
- More frequent use of multiannual topics with a choice of submission deadlines spread over more than one year.
- New eligibility criteria: gender equality plan.
Proposal evaluation
- The big novelty of Horizon Europe: interactions between experts and applicants will be sought during the evaluation phase, either through interviews or by written replies to the reviewers’ comments.
- Careful choice of expert evaluators: participation of new experts, female experts, and experts from the widening countries will be encouraged.
- A pilot for anonymous evaluation will be set up.
Project implementation
- A unique Model Grant Agreement, simplified. An annotated, user-friendly version will be available online.
- No more timesheets.
- A single formula for the personal costs’ calculation.
- The lump sum funding pilots will be continued.
- Fewer audits and reduced number of Certificates of Financial Statements.
Horizon Europe implementation: Fostering synergies with other EU spending programmes
The synergies between Horizon Europe and upstream and downstream programs will always be facilitated to smoothen the access to European funding.
Horizon Europe implementation: Easing access through digital transformation and outreach
Our world is becoming increasingly digital, and the Covid-19 crisis has accelerated this transformation. Horizon Europe is committed to providing the best support possible for this transition to digital.
- The Funding and Tenders portal will become the one-stop shop of Horizon Europe and other programs supported by the European Commission, from the call publication to grant management.
- Fully electronic grant agreement signature and grant management.
Our microfluidic expertise and Horizon Europe projects
Do you need more tips and tricks about Horizon Europe? Please look at the differences between MSCA and H2020 and Horizon Europe, and our page dedicated to successful RIA proposal writing.
Our last news:
We will be glad to participate in your project. Visit our dedicated webpage to learn more about our expertise as H2020 and Horizon Europe partner!
Curious about the calls currently open?
We are particularly interested in the following calls but remain open to any collaboration!
- EIC Work Programme that supports all stages from R&D to industry for game-changing innovations
- Horizon Europe RIA Calls, specifically focusing on health and food, bio-economy, natural resources, agriculture, and environment