HORIZON 2020Introduction – What is in for you?

Dr. Thies Wittig

Our topics:• Some basics• From FP7 to H2020• The new H2020 Structure• Project types, participation rules, financial aspects• Evaluation proceduresOnce we are through the formalities, some guidance notes before you try to get into H2020

Characteristics of EU R&D Activities

Transnational collaboration (min. 3 partners/3 countries)

Open to all: Industry, SMEs, Universities,…) Consortia selected via Calls for Proposals and

evaluation procedures involving a set of multiple criteria and independent experts

Strategic objectives - programme oriented Innovative, based on science & technology

excellence Competitive - competition of the best teams in EU RTD results are the property of the participants

… before we start

What is a proposal and what is a project ?– A Proposal is document similar to the DoW that

describes the aims and objectives of such partnership.

– It covers the scientific/technical aspects, a concrete management/work plan and describes how the results will be used after the end of the project (exploitation) and what the long-term impacts are.

… before we start

– A Project consists of a group of different organisation that jointly work to achieve a given goal, funded by the EC.

– This goal and the steps needed to achieve it is described in the Description of Work (DoW) that is part of the contract with the EC.

From FP7 to H2020

FP7 is the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. It was running from 2007 to 2013.It had a funding budget of around 55 bn Euro.

The new Framework Programme started on 1/1/2014 and runs again for 7 years: HORIZON2020The funding budget is now 72 bn Euro

FP Budget Development

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1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017 2020

in B

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FP7 H2020

From FP7 to H2020

With that budget H2020 is much bigger than FP7, however it combines the current CIP (3.6 bn Euro) and the old FP7.

Will H2020 be very different to FP7 ?

Is there anything radically new in H2020 ?

The old FP7 COOPERATION Programme

1 Health

2 Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology

3 Information and Communication Technologies

4 Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies

5 Energy

6 Environment (including Climate Change)

7 Transport (including Aeronautics)

8 Socio-economic Sciences and the Humanities

9 Space

Security10

The new Societal Challenges

1 Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing

2 Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture, Marine & Maritime Research & Bio-Economy

3 Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy

5 Climate Action, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

4 Smart, Green and Integrated Transport

6 Inclusive Societies

Secure societies7

The new Leadership in Industrial Technologies - LEIT

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2

3 1. Information and Communication Technologies

4 2. Nanosciences & technologies, 4. Materials and 5. Manufacturing

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6

7

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9 6. Space

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The old FP7 Structure

IDEAS - 15%

European Research CouncilERC

PEOPLE - 9%

Marie Curie Measures

Initial Training

Life-longLearning

Industry-A

cademia

INC

O

Specific

Actions

CAPACITIES - 8%Infra-

structures

SM

Es

Regions of

Know

ledge

Research

Potential

Science inS

ociety

INC

O

Development of Research Policies

COOPERATION - 65%

THEMES (Topics)

Health

Food …

ICT

Nanotech

Energy

Environm

.

Transport

Socio-eco

Space

Security

The new H2020 Structure

Excellent Science 33%

• European Research Council• FET• Marie Curie• Research Infrastructures

Societal Challenges 43%H

EALTH

FOO

D …

Efficient Energy

Smart

Transport

Clim

ate

Inclusive Societies

Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies - LEIT 24%

Enabling Technologies

ICT

Nanotech

Adv.

Materials

Biotech

Manufac-turing

Space

Access to Risk Finance

Innovation in SMEs

Secure Societies

Industrial Leadership

SocietalChallenges

Excellent Science

The H2020 Structure

Important: the clear boundary between the sub-programmes has gone !

I - Excellent Science

1. EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL– € 7.5 billion in FP7 -> € 13 billion in H2020

2. FUTURE AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIESthe “ICT incubator and pathfinder for new ideas

…” – € 2.7 billion in H2020

3. MARIE CURIE ACTIONS – € 4.7 billion in FP7 -> € 6 billion in H2020

4. RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES

EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL (ERC)

• Frontier research,• Cross disciplinary proposals and pioneering ideas in new

and emerging fields, which introduce unconventional and innovative approaches

• Across all fields of research

ERC principles:1 researcher; 1 host institution; 1 project; 1 selection criterion: scientific excellenceNo consortia, no networks, no co-financing

EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL (ERC)

The core funding schemesStarting Grantsto support up-and-coming research leaders who are about to establish a proper research team and to start conducting independent research in Europe.

Consolidator Grantsto support researchers at the stage at which they are consolidating their own independent research team or programme.

Advanced Grantsto allow exceptional established research leaders of any nationality and any age to pursue ground-breaking, high-risk projects that open new directions in their respective research fields or other domains.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA)

Three main types of MSCAs:

Research networks (ITN): support for Innovative Training Networks

Individual fellowships (IF): support for experienced researchers undertaking mobility between countries, optionally to the non-academic sector

International and inter-sectoral cooperation through the Research and Innovation Staff Exchanges (RISE)

II - Industrial Leadership

1. LEADERSHIP IN ENABLING AND INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES – LEIT• Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)• Nanotechnologies• Advanced materials• Biotechnology• Advanced Manufacturing &Processing• Space

2. ACCESS TO RISK FINANCE 3. INNOVATION IN SMES

Combined in one Work-programme

III - Societal Challenges

1. Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing2. Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and

maritime and inland water research, and the Bioeconomy3. Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy4. Smart, Green and Integrated Transport5. Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw

materials6. Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and

reflective societies7. Secure societies - protecting freedom and security of Europe

and its citizens.

Major changes ?

So the first conclusion is that everything is there again in H2020 !Naturally, topic areas change as well as the overall focus.The budget foreseen for the 6 Enabling Technologies corresponds the amount in FP7 for those Thematic Areas.For the Marie Curie actions the budget is a bit higher than in the old “People Programme”.

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Major changes ?

The proposed budget for the 6 Societal Challenges, however, has nearly doubled !A similar budget increase is proposed for the European Research Council – the old “Ideas Programme”.

Apart from that everything seems to be pretty similar to FP7, but …

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FP7 was called the Framework Programme for Research and Development

H2020 is called theFramework Programme for Research and Innovation

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What is Innovation ?

• Innovation is the process and outcome of creating something new, which is also of value.

• Innovation involves the whole process from opportunity identification, research or invention to development, prototyping, production marketing and sales, while entrepreneurship only needs to involve commercialization (Schumpeter)

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What is Innovation ?

• Innovation = Invention (research) + exploitation• A new way of doing things, which is

commercialized. The process of innovation cannot be separated from a company’s strategic and competitive context (Porter)

• Adoption of ideas that are new to the adopting organization

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What is Innovation ?

• Traditionally the focus has been on new products or processes, but recently new business models have come into focus, i.e. the way a company delivers value and secures profits.

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The Innovation Chain

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Research &development

Product/process development

Market development

Market replication

Covered by H2020

Prototyping,‘plans’ for new

products

Innovation and the Private Sector

To ensure that innovation is happening in H2020

SME participation becomes obligatory in most projects. Around 20% of the total budget for Societal Challenges and LEITs must go to SMEs. There are also specific measures only for SMEs

This is good news for SMEs, of course !

It is also an important message for universities: purely academic consortia are out !

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Rules of Participation

Minimum conditions• For standard collaborative actions (RIA, IA)

At least, 3 legal entities, each established in different MS/AC

• For SME Instrument, programme co-fund, CSA1 legal entity established in a MS/AC

Additional conditions• To be set out in the Work Programme (i.e.

number of participants, type of participants, etc.)

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Simplified Funding Model

One reimbursement rate by action The same rate for all beneficiaries and all activities:

– Up to 100% for Research and Innovation actions– Up to 70% for innovation (non-profit entities up

to 100%)One method for calculation of indirect costs:

– Flat rate of 25% of total direct costs, excluding subcontracting, costs of third parties and financial support to third parties

Eligible costs

Main cost categories:• Personnel costs• Costs of subcontracting• Other direct costs

– Travel costs and subsistence allowances– Depreciation costs of equipment– Costs of other goods and services (including

non-deductible VAT) NEWRules to allow costs for large infrastructure are under discussion

Personnel costs

• Salaries + social security charges + other costs included in the remuneration arising from national law/employment contract

• Additional remuneration up to 8000 EUR (per year) for non-profit legal entities

• Actual worked hours– Based on time recording system except for staff

working full time on an EU action• Unit costs for

– average personnel costs – SME owner and natural person with no salary

Simplification: Summary

• Single set of simpler and more coherent participation rules

• New balance between trust and control• Moving from several funding rates for different

beneficiaries and activities to just two• Replacing the four methods to calculate overhead or

«indirect costs» with a single flat rate• Major simplification under the forthcoming financial

regulation• Successful applicants to get working more quickly: time-

to-grant of 8 months; exceptions for the ERC and in duly justified cases

Collaborative Research: What is in for me ?

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Why to try to get in and why not

It is important to be clear about that • It is not easy to get an H2020 project• The competition will remain high (15% success

rate)• It requires a substantial amount of work• You need to team up with a European

consortium

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Why to try to get in and why not

Do you have the right motivation to try and get in ?

• Is it for widening your research perspectives or those of your department/institute ?

• Do you have the backing of the management/dean of your organization ?

• Are you prepared to accept dependencies on other partners in the research work to be done ?

• Are you aware of the administrative, management and reporting overheads ?

• Is the money the main reason ?

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Why to try to get in and why not

Some conditions you should be aware of:

• Do you have a good research track record to convince potential partners (academia)?

• Do you have an up-to-date development or production environment (SME)

• Does a research team exist at your university, or are you an individual researcher ?

• Does your institute/company have a medium to long-term research/development perspectives?

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Remember …

• The ultimate aim is to convince the evaluators that your proposal is the best !

But before you come to that step• You have to win your place in a consortium !Take the answers of the previous questions and create a convincing profile of yourself and your organisation/research group

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Some final words

My previous comments may sound rather restrictive, but my advice is:

Try everything to get into collaborative projects• It will boost your scientific experience• The cross-cultural experience is invaluable• … and last but not least: it is real fun !

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