COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Public-private partnerships in Horizon 2020: a powerful tool to deliver on innovation and growth in Europe
Date: 2013-07-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, financing, innovation, public-private partnership, research and development, sustainable development

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 10.7.2013  
COM(2013) 494 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Public-private partnerships in Horizon 2020: a powerful tool to deliver on innovation 
and growth in Europe 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Public-private partnerships in Horizon 2020: a powerful tool to deliver on innovation 
and growth in Europe 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

POLITICAL CONTEXT 

Europe must invest more and better in research and innovation. More research and innovation 
are critical in order to create sustainable economic growth and jobs and to reinforce Europe's 
international competitiveness. Research and innovation also help us address major challenges 
such as combatting climate change, securing a steady supply of clean energy or meeting the 
cost of an ageing population. However, progress is slow towards the Europe 2020 objective of 
investing 3% of GDP in R&D, with particular weaknesses in private investments. 
The  European  Commission  is  working  to  address  this  under-investment.  The  Europe  20201 
strategy  and  in  particular  the  Innovation  Union2  flagship  initiative  are  providing  a  better 
environment  for  innovation.  The  Commission's  proposals  for  the  next  EU  research  and 
innovation  programme,  Horizon  20203  foresee  funding  along  the  entire  value  chain,  from 
fundamental research through to market introduction.  

A key element of Horizon 2020 is the proposal to join forces with the private sector and with 
Member States, to achieve results that one country or company is less likely to achieve alone. 
Accompanying this Communication are Commission legislative proposals to establish public-
private partnerships and public-public partnerships with Member States under Horizon 2020. 

The package represents a total investment over the next 7 years of EUR 22 billion whereby 
EUR 8 billion from Horizon 2020 will leverage EUR 10 billion from industry, and close to 
EUR  4  billion  from  Member  States.  This  will  provide  vital  funding  for  large-scale,  longer-
term,  risky  research  and  innovation  initiatives.  These  are  essential  for  EU  leadership  in 
strategic,  globally  competitive  technology  sectors  that  provide  high  quality  jobs  (currently 
over 4 million such jobs) and contribute to meeting the EU objective of 20% of GDP coming 
from manufacturing by 2020. The partnerships will deliver major benefits to society, such as 
lower  carbon  emissions,  alternatives  to  fossil  fuels,  and  new  treatments  to  combat  poverty 
related diseases and the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance. 

The  Commission  is  presenting  these  legislative  proposals  at  this  stage  so  that  the  necessary 
legislative  decisions  can  be  taken  in  time  to  launch  the  partnerships  at  the  start  of  Horizon 
2020. This responds directly to the call from the European Council to prioritise the impact of 
the Multiannual Financial Framework on growth and jobs.  

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COM(2011) 808/809/810/811/812 

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Collectively, these partnerships will implement major elements of Innovation Union and the 
EU  Industrial  Policy4,  the  strategy  on  Key  Enabling  Technologies5,  and  make  substantial 
contributions to climate, energy, digital agenda, transport, health and other EU policies.  

This Communication also presents the Commission's approach to using other forms of public-
private  partnerships  to  implement  Horizon  2020.  A  strategy  for  strengthening  the  advice  it 
receives  from  industry  and  other  stakeholders  through  European  Technology  Platforms  and 
the  Commission  task  forces  on  industrial  policy  will  be  presented  in  forthcoming  Staff 
Working Documents.  

2. 

THE NEED FOR EU PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN RESEARCH AND INNOVATION 

Research  and  innovation  are  high  risk  activities  and  there  is  no  guarantee  of  success.  If  the 
risk of failure is too large, the private sector may be unwilling to invest, even if the economic 
and  societal  returns  could  potentially  be  very  large.  In  addition,  the  economic  benefits  of 
research  investments  may  be  captured  by  others,  meaning  that  individual  firms  will  be 
unwilling  to  invest,  or  there  may  be  compelling  policy  reasons  which  limit  the  size  of  the 
market  and  therefore  the  potential  return  (e.g.  when  developing  new  antibiotics  where 
microbial resistance is a growing concern). 

These general market failures provide a strong rationale for public support to private research 
and innovation activities. However, in a number of cases, the importance of the sectors, the 
complexity of the challenges and technologies, the long time periods involved and the scale of 
investment needed are such that public support to individual projects is not effective. It is for 
these cases that structured partnerships are needed between the public and the private sector to 
jointly  develop,  fund  and  implement  ambitious  research  and  innovation  agendas.  For  this 
reason, public-private partnerships in research are increasingly being used by policy makers 
across the world as a tool to deliver on their growth agendas. 

For  sectors  that  operate  at  European  and  international  levels,  and  where  the  scale  of  the 
investments are beyond the means of individual Member States, the most effective approach 
will  be  to  establish  such  partnerships  at  EU  level.  More  specifically,  public-private 
partnerships in research and innovation provide powerful and much needed tools to deliver on 
the objectives of Horizon 2020 for a number of reasons: 

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– 

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They  enable  a  long-term,  strategic  approach  to  research  and  innovation  and  reduce 
uncertainties by allowing for long-term commitments;  

They  provide  a  legal  structure  to  pool  resources  and  to  gather  critical  mass,  which 
enables a scale of effort that individual firms would not be able to achieve including 
through  smart  specialisation  and  combination  of  Horizon  2020  and  European 
Structural and Investment funding; 

They make research and innovation funding across the EU more efficient by sharing 
financial,  human  and  infrastructure  resources,  thereby  reducing  the  risk  of 
fragmentation, and leading to economies of scale and reduced costs for all partners 
involved; 

They  can  better  address  complex  challenges  as  they  help  develop  interdisciplinary 
approaches and allow for a more efficient sharing of knowledge and expertise; 

COM(2012) 582 
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– 

– 

– 

– 

They  facilitate  the  creation  of  an  internal  market  for  innovative  products  and 
services,  by  advancing  jointly  on  critical  issues  such  as  access  to  finance, 
standardisation and norm setting;  

They  enable  innovative  technologies  to  get  faster  to  the  market,  including  by 
allowing  companies  to  collaborate  and  share  information,  thereby  accelerating  the 
learning process; 

They  can  provide  the  right  framework  for  international  companies  to  anchor  their 
research and innovation investments in Europe and benefit from European strengths 
such as a well trained workforce, diversity in approaches and sectorial creativity; and 

They  enable  the  scale  of  research  and  innovation  effort  needed  to  address  critical 
societal challenges and major EU policy objectives under the Europe 2020 strategy. 

3. 

JOINT TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES: LESSONS LEARNT  

EU  level  public-private  partnerships  in  research  and  innovation  were  first  introduced  in  the 
current  7th  research  Framework  Programme  (FP7).  A  major  form  of  implementation  was 
through Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs), whereby the Union and industry jointly fund and 
implement certain areas of FP7. JTIs are implemented through dedicated legal entities - Joint 
Undertakings - established under what was then the equivalent of the current Article 187 of 
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). 

Five  JTIs  have  been  established  under  FP7,  in  the  areas  of  aeronautics  (Clean  Sky), 
pharmaceutical  research  (Innovative  Medicines  Initiative),  fuel  cells  and  hydrogen  (FCH), 
embedded  systems  (ARTEMIS)  and  nanoelectronics  (ENIAC).  All  of  these  are  subject  to 
regular monitoring, review and evaluation6. The Commission's Communication on 'Partnering 
in  Research  and  Innovation'7  took  stock  of  these  experiences  and  pointed  both  to  major 
achievements and to recommendations for further improvement.  

In  terms  of  achievements,  it  was  noted  that  public-private  partnerships  in  general  are 
increasingly being used by policy makers across the world as a tool to deliver on their growth 
agendas.  Evaluations  also  noted  that  public-private  partnerships  in  general,  and  JTIs  in 
particular, represent an innovative way of implementing the Union's research and innovation 
policy.  They  bring  together  the  frontrunners  in  terms  of  research  and  innovation  in  the 
industrial sectors concerned and allow them to focus and align their efforts around strategic 
research and innovation agendas.  

The launch of JTIs was considered well justified on the basis of identified market failures, the 
long term nature of the required activities and the scale of the commitment needed to achieve 
the necessary breakthroughs.  

In FP7, the JTIs represented a total Union contribution of EUR 3.12 billion, matched by an 
industry  investment  of  EUR  4.66  billion.  JTIs  have  proven  to  be  successful  in  attracting  a 
high level of industrial participation in their activities, including SMEs who represent about 
28% of the participants. 

In addition, and even though the JTIs have only been fully operational for a limited time, the 
interim evaluations have acknowledged the progress made and the first signs of impact. The 
Fuel Cells and Hydrogen JTI, for instance, has put in place a significant project portfolio of 

6 

7 

Interim  evaluations  of  the  JTIs  and  the  Commission's  response  to  these  are  available  at 
http://ec.europa.eu/research/jti/index_en.cfm, as is the report of the JTI Sherpa Group 
COM(2011) 572  

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strategic importance and some early market applications such as forklifts and small back-up 
power units have been achieved. The interim evaluation of the Clean Sky JTI confirmed that 
it  is  successfully  stimulating  developments  towards  its  strategic  environmental  targets  by 
focusing on radically new technological concepts. For the Innovative Medicines Initiative JTI, 
the interim evaluation noted good progress in improving the ecosystem for drug development 
in  Europe,  for  instance  through  better  exploiting  data,  more  effective  approaches  to  predict 
adverse drug effects, development of novel biomarkers and faster and cheaper clinical trials. 
The interim evaluations of the ENIAC and ARTEMIS JTIs highlighted their catalyst role in 
increasing the engagement of private sector champions in a framework in which national and 
European  public  authorities  can  support  topics  of  high  strategic  value.  It  was  strongly 
recommended  to  continue  with  a  similar  initiative  under  Horizon  2020,  considering  that  no 
single  organisation  or  Member  State  could  possibly  address  all  the  challenges  of  the 
electronics sector in Europe. 

The  reports  and  interim  evaluations  also  pointed  towards  some  weaknesses  in  the  current 
JTIs. This concerned in particular the need for stronger commitments from industry partners, 
with clearer measurement of these commitments and the associated leverage effect. There is 
also a need to provide more clarity on how JTIs are established, to equip them with clearer 
objectives  and  to  ensure  greater  openness  towards  new  participants.  The  report  of  the  JTI 
Sherpa Group in addition made a number of recommendations to simplify and streamline the 
running of JTIs, including through a specific financial framework appropriate to their needs. 
Stakeholders have also raised concerns about the different rules and procedures that apply for 
each JTI and which may vary between JTIs and with those applicable under FP7. All of these 
concerns have been addressed in the proposed JTIs under Horizon 2020. 

4. 

JOINT TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES IN HORIZON 2020 

The  proposed  regulatory  framework  for  Horizon  2020  allows  for  far  reaching  types  of 
engagement between the Union and the private sector, including Joint Technology Initiatives 
established  under  Article  187  TFEU.  These  must  address  the  objectives  of  Horizon  2020, 
including the integration of research and innovation activities. The Horizon 2020 Regulation 
sets  out  a  number  of  criteria  which  must  be  met  when  selecting  areas  for  public-private 
partnerships. The legislation also foresees a single set of rules that will apply to all parts of 
Horizon  2020,  including  the  JTIs,  unless  there  is  a  well  justified  need  for  a  specific 
derogation.  

4.1. 

Identification of JTIs to be established at the start of Horizon 2020 

Following from the experience gathered during FP7, the new legislative basis under Horizon 
2020,  and  the  clear  commitments  from  the  industry  partners,  the  Commission  is  presenting 
legislative  proposals  for  JTIs  to  be  established  at  the  start  of  Horizon  2020.  The  full 
justification  of  the  proposed  initiatives  is  set  out  in  the  accompanying  ex-ante  impact 
assessment documents.  

The  JTIs  all  address  strategic  technologies  that  will  underpin  growth  and  jobs  in  globally 
competitive sectors. All of the sectors involved are already or are fast emerging as strongholds 
of  a  knowledge-based  European  economy.  Over  4  million  are  currently  employed  in  these 
sectors and in all cases there are growing global markets which EU industry is well positioned 
to capture if it can build and maintain technological leadership and there are clear links to the 
objectives  of  the  Europe  2020  strategy  as  illustrated  in  the  graph  below.  There  is  an  urgent 
need  to  secure  the  necessary  major  investments  in  Europe  at  a  time  of  limited  financial 
resources. Furthermore, these areas suffer from well identified market failures associated with 

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long-term,  risky  research  and innovation,  which  means  the  private  sector  alone  is  unable  to 
commit the necessary resources. 

The proposed JTIs build on a successful track record under FP7. Four of these represent the 
next stage for JTIs established under FP7 (including the electronics systems and components 
JTI that merges the existing ARTEMIS and ENIAC JTIs). The Bio-based Industries JTI has 
been identified as a new initiative following the European bioeconomy strategy8.  

Each  JTI  proposed  has  clearly  defined  objectives  to  achieve  breakthroughs  in  the following 
areas: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Innovative  Medicines:  to  improve  European  citizens’  health  and  wellbeing  by 
providing  new  and  more  effective  diagnostics  and  treatments  such  as  new 
antimicrobial treatments; 

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen: to develop commercially viable, clean, solutions that use 
hydrogen as an energy carrier and of fuel cells as energy converters; 

Clean  Sky:  to  radically  reduce  the  environmental  impact  of  the  next  generation  of 
aircraft; 

Bio-based  Industries:  to  develop  new  and  competitive  bio-based  value  chains  that 
replace the need for fossil fuels and have a strong impact on rural development; 

Electronic  Components  and  Systems:  to  keep  Europe  at  the  forefront  of  electronic 
components and systems and bridge faster the gap to exploitation. 

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COM(2012) 60 

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These five JTIs are expected to mobilise a total investment of over EUR 17 billion, of which 
the EU budget contribution will be up to EUR 6.4 billion. The table below provides the details 
of the investment for each of the JTIs. 

JTI 

Investment in JTI (EUR) 

from EU (Horizon 2020) 

from industry partners 
and other sources 

Innovative Medicines 

1725 million 

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 

700 million 

1725 million 

700 million9 

Clean Sky 

1800 million 

2250 million 

Bio-based Industries 

1000 million 

2800 million 

Electronic components and 
systems 

1215 million 

Total 

6440 million 

3600 million10 (of which 
1200 million from Member 
States) 

9875 million from 
industry + 1200 million 
from Member States 

4.2. 

Key features of JTIs under Horizon 2020 

The  Commission  proposals  represent  significantly  more  ambitious  partnerships  than  the 
current generation of JTIs.  

JTIs  will  have  clearer  and  more  ambitious  objectives,  contributing  directly  to 
competitiveness and EU policy goals. Each JTI has measurable specific objectives and key 
performance indicators, which will allow closer monitoring and evaluation. The objectives go 
considerably  beyond  those  established  for  FP7.  The  objectives  also  incorporate  a  stronger 
emphasis  on  innovation  and  impact,  allowing  innovations  to  bridge  the  valley  of  death 
between  research  and  commercial  application.  For  example,  the  objectives  of  the  new  Fuel 
Cell and Hydrogen JTI address the price and performance barriers that need to be overcome 
for  the  technology  to  be  commercially  viable.  Furthermore,  many  of  the  objectives  directly 
support EU policy goals. For example, the Bio-based Industry JTI will develop technologies 
that will allow the production of bio-fuels from non-food crops, thereby allowing farmers and 
industry to meet EU renewables targets. Finally, the objectives target the development of key 
enabling  technologies,  such  as  electronics,  that  will  underpin  the  competitiveness  of  a  wide 
range of European industries.  

JTIs  will  have  improved  governance  to  ensure  openness  to  new  participants,  the 
allocation of funding on the basis of excellence, and better links with national activities. 

9 

10 

This  amount  is  composed  of  contributions  from  the  members  of  the  Joint  Undertaking  or  their 
constituent  entities  (at  least  EUR  400  million)  as  well  as  from  non-member  entities  through 
participation in the activities. 
This  amount  is  composed  of  contributions  from  the  members  of  the  Joint  Undertaking  or  their 
constituent  entities  (at  least  EUR  1700  million  from  private  members)  as  well  as  from  non-member 
entities through participation in the activities. 

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The  substantial  majority  of  the  EU  contribution  will  be  allocated  through  open  calls  for 
proposals  using  essentially  the  same  rules  as  the  rest  of  Horizon  2020.  In  all  cases,  the 
initiatives are open to new partners. For example the new Innovative Medicines JTI sets aside 
part  of  the  EU  contribution  for  new  partners.  The  new  Clean  Sky  JTI  will  run  an  open 
competitive process to select core partners for its demonstrators and demonstration platforms. 
Several of the new JTIs will focus more on demonstration activities, and this is expected to 
increase the relevance for a wider range of organisations. 

JTIs  under  Horizon  2020  will  aim  at  establishing  a  closer  link  with  similar  activities  at 
Member  State  and  regional  level.  For  each  JTI,  the  group  of  Member  State  representatives 
will therefore be reinforced. These groups will play an important advisory role, will receive 
full information about the implementation of the JTIs and will also be called upon to inform 
the  JTI  about  relevant  national  activities  and  link  the  activities  of  the  JTI  to  downstream 
deployment. For the JTI on Electronic Components and Systems in particular, Member States 
will also directly contribute to the funding of the JTI. 

By  linking,  where  appropriate,  to  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  support  mechanisms  for 
deployment,  synergies  between  Union-led  actions  and  Member  States'  or  regions' 
development  policies  can  be  improved  and  help  Member  States  to  increase  their 
competitiveness and better address the investment challenge in relevant priority areas. 

Major  simplification  will  be  achieved,  both  in  terms  of  the  implementation  structures 
and simpler rules for participants. JTIs under Horizon 2020 will benefit from a number of 
implementation features that will make them better fit for purpose11. This includes: 

– 

– 

a  legal  framework  that  is  better  suited  to  strong  industrial  involvement  and  major 
simplification  achieved  by  making  full  use  of  the  new  provisions  in  the  Financial 
Regulation  (where  dedicated  provisions  on  public-private  partnerships  have  been 
included  allowing  to  implement  the  'ideal  house'  scenario  for  JTIs,  e.g.  explicit 
recognition of JTIs as public-private partnership bodies with the possibility to adopt 
their own 'light' Financial Regulation adapted to their specific needs); and 

uniform  application  of  the  Horizon  2020  Rules  for  Participation  to  enhance 
predictability for the participants, with derogations only in very exceptional and duly 
justified cases. This will mean the JTIs benefit from the major simplifications to be 
introduced in Horizon 2020. 

JTIs  incorporate  stronger  commitments  from  industry,  including  substantial  financial 
commitments  at  least  commensurate  with  the  EU  budget  contribution.  Across  the  JTIs 
the  direct  commitments  of  industry  total  close  to  EUR  10  billion  euro.  As  was  the  case  in 
FP7, some of these commitments will come from the costs of funding projects resulting from 
the  calls  launched  through  the  JTI  and  which  are  not  fully  reimbursed  from  the  EU 
contribution. In addition, the industry partners will make commitments beyond these normal 
co-funding  arrangements,  where  they  will  bring  in  activities  and  investments  that  will  not 
receive any reimbursement from Horizon 2020. For example, in the case of the Fuel Cells and 
Hydrogen JTI, the current contribution from industry is largely through their participation in 
co-funded activities, whereas for the future JTI this type of contribution will be augmented by 
at least EUR 300 million in additional commitments. In the case of the Clean Sky JTI these 
addititonal commitments are close to EUR 1 billion, and for the Biobased Industries JTI they 
are  at  least  EUR  1.8  billion.  These  additional  commitments  will  be  directly  linked  to  the 

11 

As  requested  by 
2010_en.pdf  

the  JTI  Sherpa  Report:  http://ec.europa.eu/research/jti/pdf/jti-sherpas-report-

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objectives of the JTI and will contribute to their achievement. The industry partners will make 
specific commitments of this kind as part of the  annual implementation process, which will 
then be subject to verification and monitoring. In case the industry commitments do not meet 
the  necessary  levels,  the  Commission  will  have  the  right  to  reduce  or  withhold  the  EU 
contribution,  or  to wind up the Joint Undertaking. This provides the  necessary flexibility in 
case there are major unforeseen changes that reduce the relevance of the JTI objectives. 

5. 

OTHER PARTNERSHIPS IN HORIZON 2020 

5.1. 

Contractual public-private Partnerships 

Complementing the JTIs, the Commission in FP7 also engaged in structured partnerships with 
the private sector to seek direct input into the  preparation of  the work programmes  in areas 
which  were  defined  upfront  and  which  are  of  great  industrial  relevance.  Unlike  JTIs,  such 
partnerships do not require additional legislation because the funding is implemented by the 
Commission through the normal procedures.  
Three such partnerships were launched under the European Economic Recovery Plan12, and 
implemented through calls with a total Union contribution of EUR 1.6 billion. The calls have 
been highly relevant to industry with about half of the project funding allocated to industry, 
and about 30% to SMEs13.  

Building on this experience, the Horizon 2020 proposals also allow for such partnerships. To 
improve  transparency,  these  partnerships  will  be  based  on  a  contractual  agreement  between 
the  Commission  and  the  industry  partners,  setting  out  the  objectives,  commitments,  key 
performance indicators and outputs to be delivered.  

Contractual public-private partnerships are being considered in the following areas: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Factories of the Future; 

Energy-efficient Buildings; 

Green Vehicles; 
Future Internet14; 

Sustainable Process Industry; 

Robotics; 

Photonics; 

High Performance Computing. 

The first four areas would take forward public-private partnerships established under FP7. In 
all cases, they represent large parts of the European economy and the need for public-private 
partnerships has been identified in Commission documents, such as the Communication on an 
update to the Industrial Policy, the Communication on a European strategy for Key Enabling 
Technologies15, the Communication on High-Performance Computing16 or  the proposals  for 
Horizon 2020.  

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13 

14 
15 
16 

COM(2008) 800 
In addition, for the Future Internet initiative EUR 300 million has been invested by the Union, of which 
about 50% has gone to industry. 
Follow-up to the ongoing Future Internet PPP focused on wired and wireless 5G network infrastructures 
COM(2012) 341 
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For  each  of  these  areas,  the  industry  proposals  are  expected  to  provide  clear  roadmaps, 
developed  in  open  consultation  with  other  interested  parties,  which  describe  the  vision, 
research and innovation content and expected impact, including in terms of growth and jobs. 
They are also expected to clarify the nature and extent of the industry's commitments and the 
leverage  effect  of  the  public-private  partnership.  They  will  focus  particularly  on  close  to 
market activities. 

In  addition,  the  public-private  partnerships  should  also  aim  at  exploiting  synergies  with 
European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds,  notably  in  relation  to  the  regional  and  national 
smart specialisation strategies. 

The  Commission  will  assess  the  industry  proposals,  including  through  the  use  of  external 
expertise, against the criteria established under the Horizon 2020 Regulation. In the case of a 
positive assessment, the results of which will be made publicly available, a Memorandum of 
Understanding  will  be  concluded  between  the  Commission  and  the  private  partners,  on  the 
basis of a Commission Decision. This will set out: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

The general and specific objectives of the partnership; 

The commitments made by the private partners, which are expected to be substantial 
and  at  a  comparable  level  to  the  foreseen  Union  contribution,  and  may  include  the 
administrative  costs  of  the  public-private  partnership  as  well  as  industry  funded 
demonstration, training, clustering, awareness-raising and monitoring activities; 

The  key  performance  indicators  and  the  expected  results,  including  the  impacts  in 
terms of exploitation in Europe; 

The  indicative  financial  envelope  for  the  Union  contribution  for  the  period  2014-
2020 (subject to approval by the Budgetary Authority through the annual budgetary 
procedure); 

A  monitoring  and  review  mechanism,  using key  performance indicators  and with a 
possibility  for  adjustment.  This  will  also  provide  the  basis  for  the  Commission  to 
terminate a partnership in case the industry partners fall short on their commitments; 

The governance structure, including the mechanism  by  which  the  Commission  will 
seek advice from the private partners on the research and innovation activities to be 
proposed for financial support under Horizon 2020. 

For  those  areas  where  the  industry  proposal  is  evaluated  to  meet  the  required  criteria,  the 
Commission  will  aim  to  conclude  the  necessary  Memorandum  of  Understanding  in  time  to 
launch the public-private partnerships activities in the first Horizon 2020 work programme.  

5.2. 

Public-public and other partnerships  

The Commission will also make use of other forms of partnering for the implementation of 
Horizon  2020.  The  Commission  is  presenting  four  legislative  proposals  to  establish  public-
public partnerships with Member States under Article 185 TFEU for the joint implementation 
of national research programmes. These proposals cover: 

– 

– 

The  second  European  and  Developing  Countries  Clinical  Trials  Partnership:  to 
contribute  to  the  reduction  of  the  social  and  economic  burden  of  Poverty  Related 
Diseases; 

The  European  Metrology  Programme  for  Research  and  Innovation:  to  provide 
appropriate, integrated and fit-for-purpose metrology solutions supporting innovation 
and  industrial  competitiveness  as  well  as  measurement  technologies  addressing 
societal challenges such as energy, environment and health; 

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– 

– 

Eurostars  2:  to  stimulate  economic  growth  and  job  creation  by  enhancing  the 
competitiveness of R&D performing SMEs; 

The Active and Assisted Living Research and Development Programme: to improve 
the quality of life for the elderly and their careers and to increase the sustainability of 
care  systems  by  enhancing  the  availability  of  ICT  based  products  and  services  for 
active and healthy ageing. 

long-term  European  partnerships.  They  complement 

In  addition  to  the  public-private  partnerships,  Horizon  2020  will  also  make  use  of  advice 
coming from other forms of partnership such as the European Innovation Partnerships17 and 
the  Joint  Programming  Initiatives18  as  well  as  from  European  Technology  Platforms.  Also 
under  Horizon  2020,  the  European  Institute  of  Innovation  and  Technology  will  establish 
Knowledge  and  Innovation  Communities19  bringing  together,  under  structured  long-term 
partnerships, the education, research and business sectors. 
The  two  forthcoming  FET  Flagships,20  Graphene  and  Human  Brain  Project,  aim  to  create 
large-scale 
the  public-private 
partnerships  as  they  are  science-driven  at  the  outset,  while  the  industrial  participation  will 
build up over the ten-year duration of the Flagships.  
Besides  JTIs,  the  SESAR21  (Single  European  Sky  ATM  Research)  Joint  Undertaking  (SJU) 
was  established  as  another  form  of  public-private  partnership  on  the  basis  of  Article  187 
TFEU  to  coordinate  the  SESAR  project,  the  technical  pillar  of  the  Single  European  Sky 
initiative which aims at modernising Air Traffic Management in Europe. Due to its specific 
policy-oriented  activities,  SESAR  was  not  set  up  as  a  JTI,  although  it  does  maintain  close 
links with the Clean Sky JTI. The Commission is proposing to extend the SESAR JU under 
Horizon 2020. This extension will ensure that the coordination of research and innovation in 
the  field  of  ATM  is  continued  under  Horizon  2020  in  full  consistency  with  the  Single 
European Sky (SES) policy objectives. 

6. 

OUTLOOK 

Public-private  partnerships  with  a  strong  industry  input  and  commitment  are  indispensable 
elements  of  achieving  the  objectives  of  Horizon  2020  and  the  Europe  2020  strategy.  This 
Communication  has  outlined  how  the  approach  to  public-private  partnerships  will  be 
strengthened  in  Horizon  2020,  on  the  basis  of  increased  transparency,  clearer  objectives,  a 
stronger  focus  on  close  to  the  market  activities,  stronger  industry  commitment  and  major 
simplification. 

The  activities  of  the  JTIs,  contractual  public-private  partnerships,  public-public  partnerships 
and  other  related  initiatives  such  as  the  Joint  Programming  Initiatives,  the  EIT  KICs  or  the 
European Innovation Partnerships will be implemented in a way that maximises synergies and 
increases overall impact, in particular where they address common objectives. Full use should 
in this respect be made of the possibilities offered by the fact that all EU level research and 
innovation  funding  has  been  brought  together  in  a  single  programme,  Horizon  2020. 
Synergies should especially be sought in linking activities across the innovation cycle, from 

17 
18 
19 
20 
21 

http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm?pg=eip  
http://ec.europa.eu/research/era/joint-programming_en.html  
http://eit.europa.eu/kics/  
http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/fet-flagships 
http://www.sesarju.eu/  

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research outcomes to closer to market activities, in order to help boost entrepreneurship and 
business creation in fields of major relevance to the European economy.  

Given  their  high  impact  on  jobs  and  growth,  the  Commission  calls  upon  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  to  conclude  the  necessary  legislative  decisions  to  launch  these 
partnerships at the start of Horizon 2020. Through the proposed governance arrangements, the 
Commission  will  regularly  monitor,  report,  and  evaluate  the  progress  of  the  JTIs  and  other 
partnerships.  

Experience  demonstrates  that  the  establishment  of  Joint  Undertakings  requires  considerable 
time  and  effort  and  should  only  be  pursued  where  there  is  a  major  strategic  research  and 
innovation  objective  that  cannot  be  met  through  the  normal  Horizon  2020  implementation. 
The Commission will therefore only consider the need for future such initiatives where there 
is a clear case based on the criteria under Horizon 2020 and a clear strategic policy need. The 
Commission does, however, consider that the scale of research and innovation effort and the 
policy  need  to  complete  the  Single  European  Railway  Area  and  build  EU  leadership  in  rail 
technologies presents a good case for a potential Joint Undertaking in the railway sector and 
will work with the industry to develop a proposal. 

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