Funding Programme Horizon 2020

Funding Programme Horizon 2020
Name	Horizon 2020
Type	Research and innovation programme
Established	2014
Budget	€77 billion
Duration	2014–2020
Succeeded by	Horizon Europe

Contents

Funding Programme Horizon 2020 Horizon 2020 was the European Union research and innovation funding programme for 2014–2020, administered by the European Commission, co-created with stakeholders such as the European Parliament, the European Council, and national research agencies like the Agence Nationale de la Recherche and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. It operated alongside initiatives from institutions including the European Research Council, the Joint Research Centre, the European Investment Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and partner states such as Norway, Switzerland, and Israel.

Overview

Horizon 2020 integrated predecessor programmes such as the Seventh Framework Programme and parts of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, aiming to unify instruments used by bodies like the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the European Space Agency, and the COST Association. It sought coherence with international agreements including the Paris Agreement and linked to standards bodies such as the European Committee for Standardization while coordinating with funding agencies like the National Science Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.

The programme prioritized competitiveness in sectors associated with corporations like Siemens, Thales Group, Airbus, and innovators linked to universities such as University of Oxford, Karolinska Institutet, ETH Zurich, Sorbonne University, and Technical University of Munich. It targeted societal challenges referenced in policy agendas of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the International Energy Agency, and aligned with legal frameworks including the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and regulations from the European Medicines Agency and the European Chemicals Agency.

The budget encompassed approximately €77 billion managed through directorates-general of the European Commission—notably the DG Research and Innovation—and implemented by executive agencies such as the Research Executive Agency and the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency. Financial instruments drew on models used by the European Investment Fund and contractual frameworks influenced by the Treaty of Lisbon; auditors like the European Court of Auditors reviewed allocations, and oversight involved bodies such as the European Anti-Fraud Office.

Eligible participants included higher education institutions like University of Cambridge, Universität Heidelberg, Università di Bologna, research organisations such as the Max Planck Society, private entities including Novartis, Royal Philips, BP, and civil society organisations exemplified by Greenpeace and Médecins Sans Frontières. Consortia often paired beneficiaries from member states like France, Germany, Italy, and Spain with partners from associated countries such as Turkey, Serbia, and Iceland; funding rules were administered by agencies like the European Research Council and national ministries including the Ministry of Science and Technology (Portugal).

Horizon 2020 offered instruments such as grants for research and innovation actions, coordination and support actions, and grants inspired by models used at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Research and Innovation council. The programme launched thematic calls addressing areas prioritized by the European Commission and related to projects involving institutions such as CERN, EMBL, EIT Digital, Fraunhofer Society, and companies like IBM and Google. Calls were evaluated by panels with experts from agencies including the European Research Council and peer review practices familiar to journals such as Nature, Science, and The Lancet.

Implementation relied on project management systems used by Horizon Europe’s predecessors, monitoring by the European Commission and the Research Executive Agency, and audits by the European Court of Auditors; external evaluators included experts from bodies like the Academia Europaea and the Royal Society. Evaluation metrics referenced indicators used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank, and impact assessment methodologies related to frameworks from the European Environment Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Horizon 2020 funded consortia that produced outputs connected to organisations such as Tesla, Inc., Pfizer, AstraZeneca, research infrastructures like ESS (European Spallation Source), SKA Observatory, and influenced successor programmes including Horizon Europe. Its legacy informed policy debates in institutions like the European Parliament and research strategies at universities such as Imperial College London, UCL, and EPFL, and contributed to collaborations with international partners such as Japan, United States, Canada, and Australia while shaping frameworks used by funders like the European Research Council and the European Investment Bank.