Horizon 2020: what it is and how to apply for funding

19th February 2020

How UK businesses and researchers can continue to access Horizon 2020 funding even after 31 January 2020.

UK scientists, researchers and businesses can continue to participate in Horizon 2020 programmes and receive EU grant funding for the lifetime of individual projects, This includes projects finishing after 1 January 2021.

Successful UK bids will continue to receive grant funding from the Commission. This includes calls that end after 1 January 2021.

A small number of UK projects involving EU-restricted information may be unable to continue in their current form. The Commission will inform the affected participants. For more information contact UKRI at EUGrantsFunding@ukri.org.

Horizon 2020 is the largest ever European funding programme for research and innovation. It has a budget of 79 billion euros and will run throughout 2020.

Horizon 2020 aims to:

ensure that Europe produces world-class science

remove barriers to innovation

make it easier for public and private sectors to innovate together

This guidance is designed to help people in the UK understand and access the funding opportunities available, in order to innovate and grow both in the UK and abroad.

What is Horizon 2020?

The Horizon 2020 programme was established by the European Union (EU) as a collaborative financial instrument that would help secure Europe's global competitiveness in research and innovation.

The programme - running from 2014 to 2020 - is seen as a means of putting Europe at the heart of world-class science and innovation, making it more competitive, creating economic growth and new jobs. It offers an open, simple structure for accessing funding in order to remove barriers to collaborative innovation, get new projects off the ground quickly and achieve results faster.

Funding calls are based on 3 areas:

Excellent science

This area focuses on raising the level of excellence in Europe's science base by:

supporting the best ideas

developing European talent

providing researchers with access to a research infrastructure

Industrial leadership

This area stimulates the growth potential of European companies by:

offering access to risk finance

encouraging private investment in research and development

offering support for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Societal challenges

This area aims to tackle the biggest challenges facing modern society. It reflects the policy priorities of the European Commission and covers all stages of research and innovation, from concept to market.

What happens after EU exit on 31 January 2020?

UK scientists, researchers and businesses can continue to participate in, bid for and lead projects in Horizon 2020, as if the UK remained a member state, even after the UK exits the EU on 31 January 2020.

The UK government is encouraging UK organisations to continue to bid into calls for new Horizon 2020 grant funding for the lifetime of the Horizon 2020 programme and, if successful, funding will be provided by the Commission.

This includes Horizon 2020 calls that extend into 2021, after the transition period has ended.

What Horizon 2020 can do for you as a UK business

If you are an innovative UK-based business you should apply for a Horizon 2020 call. It is:

the biggest single opportunity for UK businesses to access European funding

a gateway for accessing new expertise, infrastructure and markets

a proven instrument for supporting your business to become more innovative, competitive and to grow faster - and helping to grow the UK economy as a whole

To read more and how to apply go to - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/horizon-2020-what-it-is-and-how-to-apply-for-funding

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EU Flags in front of the European Parliament.