Horizon 2020

Monday, 31 July 2017 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: EU blog post series, European Union
Reading Time:  6 minutes

Horizon 2020 is a funding programme created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the European Research Area (ERA). It is the eighth of the Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development funding research, technological development, and innovation with the focus on innovation, delivering economic growth faster and delivering solutions to end users that are often governmental agencies. The programme’s name has been modified to “Framework Programme for Research and Innovation”. The framework programme is implemented by the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, either by various internal directorate general (DGs), such as the directorate general for research and innovation (DG RTD) or the Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, or by executive agencies such as the Research Executive Agency (REA), the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME), or the ERC Executive Agency (ERCEA). The framework programme’s objective is to complete the European Research Area (ERA) by coordinating national research policies and pooling research funding in some areas to avoid duplication. Horizon 2020 itself is seen as a policy instrument to implement other high-level policy initiatives of the European Union, such as Europe 2020 and Innovation Union. The programme runs from 2014–2020 and provides an estimated €80 billion of funding, an increase of 23 per cent on the previous phase. Horizon 2020 is also implementing the European environmental research and innovation policy, which is aimed at defining and turning into reality a transformative agenda for greening the economy and the society as a whole so as to achieve a truly sustainable development.

Horizon 2020 provides grants to research and innovation projects through open and competitive calls for proposals. Legal entities from any country are eligible to submit project proposals to these calls. Participation from outside the European Union is explicitly encouraged. Participants from European Union member states and countries associated to Horizon 2020 are automatically funded. Associated countries have signed an association agreement for the purposes of this framework programme. To date, 16 countries are associated to Horizon 2020. A central point of negotiation was funding to projects beyond the Green Line; Horizon 2020 supports Open access to research results, in order to create greater efficiency, improve transparency and accelerate innovation.

The programme consists of three main research areas that are called “pillars”:

  • The first pillar, “Excellent Science“, focuses on basic science. It has a budget of 24 billion euros. The European Research Council (ERC) delivers 13 billion euros to researchers and teams of researchers based on scientific excellence of the applications. This pillar funds Future and Emerging Technologies (FET, €2.7 billion) and researcher mobility (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action (MSCA), €6.1 billion) and large European research infrastructures (€2.5 billion).
    • MSCA supports the career development and training of researchers at all stages of their careers. It is the main EU programme for doctoral training funding 25,000 PhDs during seven years. It co-funds national PhD programmes. Other MSCA funding targets research networks, fellowships for individual researchers, research staff exchanges and arrange “European Researchers’ Night”-event annually on the last Friday of September.
  • The second pillar is “Industrial Leadership“, with a budget of 14 billion euros. It is managed by DG Enterprise and based on Europe 2020 and Innovation Union strategies. The pillar consists of six sub-programmes within “Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies”:
    • Information and communication technologies
    • Nanotechnologies
    • Advanced materials
    • Advanced manufacturing and processing
    • Biotechnology
    • Space

    These technologies all have European technology platforms (ETP; fora for research communities to meet) with their respective strategic research agendas (SRA). Some technologies have long term funding instruments, such as joint technology initiatives (JTI). Some technologies are labelled key enabling technologies (KET). This pillar contains special efforts to SME funding and gives also risk financing (2.8 billion euros) e.g. through loans of the European Investment Bank.

  • The third pillar funds potential solutions to social and economic problems, “Societal Challenges” (SC), in the following seven sub-programmes:
    • Health (€7.5 billion)
    • Food, water, forestry, bioeconomy (€3.8 billion)
    • Energy (€5.9 billion)
    • Transport (€6.3 billion)
    • Climate action, environment, resource efficiency, and raw materials (€3.1 billion)
    • European society (€1.3 billion)
    • Security (€1.7 billion)
    • This pillar also funds themes names as “Science with and for society” (€0.5 billion) and “Spreading excellence and widening participation” (€0.8 billion).

    The structure follows the previous framework programme (FP7, 2007–13) to the level of the sub-programmes under the pillars. In the industrial pillar the goal is to find ways to modernize European industries that have suffered from a fragmented European market. In societal challenges the goal is implementation of solutions, less on technology development.

Read more on europa.eu – Horizon 2020 and Wikipedia Horizon 2020 (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.

H2020inbrief


Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

European Museum of the Year Award

European Museum of the Year Award

[caption id="attachment_224331" align="aligncenter" width="590"] European Museum of the Year Award[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) is presented each year by the European Museum Forum (EMF) under the auspices of the Council of Europe. The EMYA is considered the most important annual award in the European museum sector. Museums in 47 European countries, all members of the Council of Europe, can take part in the competition if they are newly opened or have undergone modernization or expansion ...

[ read more ]

La Réunion in the Indian Ocean

La Réunion in the Indian Ocean

[caption id="attachment_160973" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Saint-Denis © B.navez/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Réunion (previously Île Bourbon and Île Bonaparte) is a French island with a population of 84,000 inhabitants. The island is located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) southwest of Mauritius, the nearest island. Réunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues form the Mascarene Islands. The collective title is derived from the Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas, who first vis...

[ read more ]

The Valle Riviera in Switzerland

The Valle Riviera in Switzerland

[caption id="attachment_153938" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Iragna © biascaturismo.ch[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Descending from the North, the Riviera suddenly opens up, as the alpine valleys of Leventina and Blenio come together. From Biasca, at the end of the River Moesa, there are, on both sides of the valley, picturesque villages that give the visitor an historical vision of an important past, together with the image of modern industry. Romanesque churches and towers, stately homes of nobles past, hamlets nestl...

[ read more ]

The European Union

The European Union

[caption id="attachment_25264" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © naturalearthdata.com - Alexrk2/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by the Inner Six countries in 1951 and 1958, respectively. In the intervening years the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The Maastricht Treaty established the ...

[ read more ]

Dülmen in the Münsterland

Dülmen in the Münsterland

[caption id="attachment_161080" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Town Hall on Market Square © Stahlkocher/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Dülmen is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dülmen is situated in the south part of the Münsterland area, between the Lippe river to the south, the Baumberge hills to the north and the Ems river to the east. South of Dülmen the Ruhr area is located. After the local government reforms of 1975 Dülmen consists of the 7 subdivisions Dülmen, Kirchspie...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Taiwan - Hsinchu

Theme Week Taiwan - Hsinchu

[caption id="attachment_192030" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Hsinchu City Government © 勤岸/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Hsinchu, officially known as Hsinchu City, is a provincial city in northern Taiwan. Hsinchu is popularly nicknamed "The Windy City" for its windy climate. Among the tourist attractions are: Black Bat Squadron Memorial Hall, Glass Museum of Hsinchu City, Hsinchu City Art Site of Railway Warehouse, Hsinchu CKS Baseball Stadium, Hsinchu Museum of Military Dependents Village, Hsinchu Fish Harbor, ...

[ read more ]

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Northern England

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Northern England

[caption id="attachment_153202" align="aligncenter" width="579"] Canal boats at Appley Bridge © Strider52/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of 127 miles (204 km), it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line. It has several small branches, and in the early 21st century a new link was constructed into the Liverpool docks system. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal main line is 127 mil...

[ read more ]

The Channel Island of Brecqhou

The Channel Island of Brecqhou

[caption id="attachment_153951" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Aerial view © Diegourdiales[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Brecqhou is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It is located just west of Sark and has a surface area of approximately 200 acres (0.81 km2). Sark claims it as a tenement, and the Ministry of Justice, the department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for the Channel Islands, considers Brecqhou part of Sark - but this is disputed by Brecqhou's current tenants. ...

[ read more ]

The Museum of World Cultures

The Museum of World Cultures

[caption id="attachment_150721" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Dontworry-cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Museum of World Cultures (German: Museum der Weltkulturen) is an ethnological museum on Museumsufer in Frankfurt. Until 2001 it was called the Museum of Ethnology (Museum für Völkerkunde). It was founded in 1904, as a civic institution, to bring together the ethnographic collections of the city of Frankfurt. In 1908 the museum moved into the Palais Thurn und Taxis in the city centre. In 1925 the city...

[ read more ]

The four-masted steel barque Passat

The four-masted steel barque Passat

[caption id="attachment_153000" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Aconcagua[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Passat is a German four-masted steel barque and one of the Flying P-Liners, the famous sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz. The name "Passat" means trade wind in German. She is one of the last surviving windjammers. In 1957, a few weeks after the tragic loss of Pamir in mid-Atlantic and shortly after having been severely hit by a storm, Passat was decommissioned. She had almost experienced the same f...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top
Jemaa el-Fnaa © Boris Macek/cc-by-sa-3.0
Theme Week Morocco – Marrakesh

Marrakesh, also known by the French spelling Marrakech, is a major city of the Kingdom of Morocco. It is the...

Lighthouse of Cape Spartel © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0
Theme Week Morocco – Tangier

Tangier is a major city in northwestern Morocco. It is located on the Maghreb coast at the western entrance to...

Fort Myers Beach sign © Sanibel sun
Fort Myers on the Gulf of Mexico

Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County in Florida, with a population of 74,000. Fort...

Schließen