The Horizon 2020 (H2020) Program is the program that funds research and innovation projects in the European Union for the 2014–2020 period. As the H2020 program comes to a close—and with the same goal for which it was launched—to promote industrial leadership in Europe and strengthen scientific excellence—the European Commission is now working on its successor, Horizon Europe. This new program will cover the period 2021–2027 and promises to be the largest research, development, and innovation funding program to date.
What is Horizon Europe?
Horizon Europe is a funding program designed to support research, development, and innovation projects that advance a set of objectives common to the entire European Union. These objectives are based on the three pillars of the Horizon Europe program, which are as follows:
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- Scientific Excellence: On the one hand, the program seeks to promote “open science” by offering support to researchers through grants and by funding projects defined and led by the researchers themselves through the European Research Council and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA).
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- Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness: Furthermore, the program aims to promote, through the Joint Research Center (JRC), projects that develop technological solutions to challenges in critical areas such as health, climate change, mobility, food and natural resources, energy, civil security, the digital world, industry, and space, among others. This means that not only will the excellence of the projects be evaluated, but the development projects submitted in response to the calls for proposals must also have a clear social impact.
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- Innovative Europe: Finally, the goal is to promote and support innovation activities involving businesses, research, and higher education through the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). These innovation activities will be implemented through so-called “missions,” which are broad global challenges (for example: cancer; soil health and food; smart and climate-neutral cities; the health of oceans, seas, and coastal and inland waters; and adaptation to climate change). In this way, funding will be provided for projects that have a broad impact on any of these areas.
Clickheretoaccess the full document on the Horizon Europe Program 2021–2027.
Authors: Alba Mª López and Marina Martínez