On April 30 the Commission released a Communication and Staff Working document on the Interim Evaluation of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021 – 2024). Orgalim had provided a contribution to this evaluation. The press release is available here.
The Commission assessed that Horizon Europe is proving to be a major driver of economic and societal benefits in which every euro of EU contribution is estimated to generate up to €11 in GDP gains by 2045.
The evaluation led to the following next steps
- Over the coming months, the European Commission will work to make R&I funding simpler, more focused and even more impactful. Immediate measures in the upcoming work programmes will make the application and project implementation process more user-friendly.
- Targeted investment will provide even more support for researchers and entrepreneurs designed to attract, nurture and retain talent in the EU. Collaboration will be enhanced to foster links between different stakeholders, including businesses, and to boost knowledge valorisation.
- As part of the work on the forthcoming start-up and scale-up strategy, the Commission will look into options to expand Horizon Europe’s Pillar III given its potential to help bridge the innovation gap, including in the scale-up of innovative companies, by optimising the resources available under the programme.
- The Commission will continue to create the conditions for researchers and innovators to thrive. To this end it will work to expand the ERC and the EIC. In this context, in line with the White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030, the Commission will also ensure that the EIC will invest in dual-use technologies.
- Lastly, the European Commission will tackle the barriers for startup and the scale-up of innovative companies that require regulatory action by bringing in changes via the European Innovation Act