European Union Horizon 2020

Participation in European Union Framework Programmes

What is Horizon 2020?

European Union Horizon 2020 Guidelines

Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020) – in addition to the private investment that this money will attract. It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market.

Horizon 2020 is the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed at securing Europe’s global competitiveness.

Image source: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/what-horizon-2020

Seen as a means to drive economic growth and create jobs, Horizon 2020 has the political backing of Europe’s leaders and the Members of the European Parliament. They agreed that research is an investment in our future and so put it at the heart of the EU’s blueprint for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs.

By coupling research and innovation, Horizon 2020 is helping to achieve this with its emphasis on excellent science, industrial leadership and tackling societal challenges. The goal is to ensure Europe produces world-class science, removes barriers to innovation and makes it easier for the public and private sectors to work together in delivering innovation.

Horizon 2020 is open to everyone, with a simple structure that reduces red tape and time so participants can focus on what is really important. This approach makes sure new projects get off the ground quickly – and achieve results faster.

The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation will be complemented by further measures to complete and further develop the European Research Area. These measures will aim at breaking down barriers to create a genuine single market for knowledge, research and innovation.

National Launch: Presenting the European Union’s new Framework Programme Horizon 2020 (H2020)

27-31 January 2014, South Africa

The purpose of the launch was to present the European Union’s new Framework Programme Horizon 2020 (H2020) to the South African science and technology community. The launch consisted of a series of workshops which highlighted the first H2020 calls for proposals launched on 11 December 2013. The launch also served as an ideal opportunity for South African organisations interested in cooperating with European organisations under H2020 to learn more about the administrative requirements and the procedure to be followed when wishing to participate in H2020. The workshops were co-facilitated by the DST, the ESASTAP Plus project partners and representatives of the European Commission (EC).

USEFUL LINKS:

http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/

http://www.esastap.org.za/

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/index.html

http://www.securingwaterforfood.org/

http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/dsc/peerscience/index.htm

http://europa.eu/about-eu/funding-grants/index_en.htm

The European Union (EU) Framework Programmes (FP) is Europe’s major support instrument in the field of science, research and innovation.

South Africa’s participation in the FPs dates from the signing of an agreement on scientific and technological (S&T) co-operation between the EU and South Africa in 1996.

USEFUL LINKS: