REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual Report on Research and Technological Development Activities of the European Union in 2014
Date: 2015-08-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, activity report, applied research, financing method, innovation, research and development, scientific cooperation, technical cooperation

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 19.8.2015  
COM(2015) 401 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Annual Report on Research and Technological Development Activities of the European 
Union in 2014 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Annual Report on Research and Technological Development Activities of the 
European Union in 2014 

1. 

BACKGROUND TO THE ANNUAL REPORT ON RTD ACTIVITIES 

The  Annual  Report  on  research  and  technological  development  activities  of  the  European 
Union  (EU)  is  prepared  pursuant  to  Article  190  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European  Union  (TFEU).  The  purpose  of  this  report  is  to  provide  an  overview  of  key 
measures undertaken in the reporting year. 

2. 

THE BROADER POLITICAL CONTEXT IN 2014 

The year 2014 was one of great political change in the EU. A new European Parliament was 
elected,  a  new  Commission  took  office  in  November,  and  a  new  President  –  the  first  one 
from the new post-2004 Member States – took-up office in the European Council. In order 
to  build  on  the  progress  already  made  by  Member  States  in  steering  Europe  back  to 
economic  recovery, 
the  newly-elected  Commission  President  Jean-Claude  Juncker 
introduced  an  Agenda  for  Jobs,  Growth,  Fairness  and  Democratic  Change.  The  agenda  is 
based on three pillars of structural reforms, fiscal responsibility and investment and  it  sets 
out  10  clear  priorities  to  get  people  back  to  work  and  the  European  economy  growing.  A 
new  investment  plan  was  proposed  which  aims  to  unlock  public  and  private  investment 
worth  €315  billion  over  the  next  three  years.  A  European  Commission  Proposal  for  a 
Regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) was launched in January 
2015; its adoption by the EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament is expected 
in  summer  2015.  Horizon  2020  is  set  to  play  a  role  in  this  by  contributing  to  the  EFSI 
guarantee fund. This will allow further investments to be made in the area of Research and 
Innovation. 

Fiscal consolidation efforts have continued to be pursued during 2014 and in the majority of 
Member States have begun to pay off. The gradual recovery of Europe's economy which set 
in in the second quarter of 2013 has continued to gain momentum in 2014, and after hitting a 
soft  patch  last  spring,  GDP  growth  in  the  EU  picked  up  again  towards  the  end  of  2014, 
rising, on a yearly base, by 1.4%.1  

3. 

IMPLEMENTING THE HORIZON 2020 CALLS 

Horizon  2020,  the  largest  EU  research  and  innovation  programme  ever,  with  nearly  €80 
billion  of  funding  for  a  seven  year  period,  was  launched  in  December  2013.  This  was 
immediately followed by the first Work Programme with a budget of €15 billion for 2014-
2015,  which  included  12  so-called  focus  areas.  The  calls  opened  on  time,  and  the  user-

1  

European Economic Forecast – Spring 2015  

2 

 
                                                 
friendly Horizon 2020 IT systems were functional from the beginning. The simplified two-
year  Work  Programme  implementing  the  new  challenge-based  approach  was  designed  so 
that it integrates EU policy objectives through a strategic programming process, that fosters 
integration,  incorporates  key  features  and  novelties,  and  generates  more  impact  and  value 
creation.  A  comprehensive  information  campaign  was  rolled-out  across  34  countries 
attracting around 10,000 participants to the events. Further national and regional information 
activities were organised.  

The  first  100  calls  were  closed  by  1  December  2014,  attracting  37,000  proposals  in  total.  
Over 3,200 grants were signed  by the end of April 2015 with a total requested funding of 
€5.4 billion. Proposals had an average success rate between 12 and 14%. 

The implementation of the first calls, as well as the efficiency of the simplification measures 
were  monitored  by  the  European  Commission.  Member  States,  the  research  community, 
industry, and stakeholders were consulted in the monitoring exercise. The resulting lessons 
learned are summarised below. 

Response to calls  

The  large  response  to  the  first  calls  confirmed  the  attractiveness  of  the  challenge-based 
approach  of  Horizon  2020  and  the  demand  for  cross-border  research  and  innovation 
cooperation.  Most  stakeholders,  including  SMEs,  expressly  welcomed  the  broad  topics  of 
the first calls. High subscription rates were noted in 2014 calls.  This translated into a lower 
success rate compared to the previous Framework Programme. While on the one hand there 
was higher selectivity fostering excellence, on the other, it could render the programme less 
appealing in the long-term. Measures are, therefore, envisaged in future Work Programmes 
to  manage  the  large  demand  while  maintaining  the  challenge-base,  non-prescriptive 
approach.  

In spite of the many proposals received in the first calls of Horizon 2020 and the pressure on 
evaluation  systems,  the  high  standards  in  terms  of  expert  selection  and  composition  in 
evaluation process were maintained.  

Simplification 

The Participant Portal online system was highly appreciated by the stakeholder community2. 
It  works  as  a  single  gateway  to  Horizon  2020  for  proposal  submission,  registration  of 
participant's  organisation  and  expert  registration  and  payment.  The  Horizon  2020  new 
generation  of  IT  systems  for  handling  proposals  and  grants  without  lengthy  paper  circuits 
(electronic signatures), as well as the simplification of business processes have reduced red 
tape  for  applicants.  According  to  first  statistics  the  time-to-grant  requirement  of  8  months 
was met in the vast majority of cases (ca. 95%).  

2 

Ecorys Study, 2014. 

3 

 
                                                 
Research and Innovation Cycle 

The  share  of  private  sector  participation  in  the  first  calls  amounts  to  31%  in  signed  grant 
agreements and 28% in terms of EU financial contribution. The corresponding FP7 rates are 
30% and 25% respectively. The participation of the private sector is particularly high in both 
the Industrial Leadership and Societal Challenges pillars.  

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) 

Horizon 2020 is attractive to SMEs. Results show that the EU is on track for allocating 20% 
of  the  combined  budget  for  Societal  Challenges  and  Leading  and  Enabling  Technologies 
(LEITs)  to  SMEs.  The  new  SME  Instrument  in  Horizon  2020  was  successfully  launched 
and, with more than 8,100 applications (6,900 for phase 1 and 1,200 for phase 2), was the 
most popular scheme in 2014. It attracted newcomers and SMEs with promising innovation 
and  economic  potential.  For  example,  around  50%  of  first  beneficiaries  in  phase  1  (155 
funded  projects  at  the  first  cut-off  date)  were  already  active  on  European  and/or  global 
markets. 

Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) 

Horizon  2020  has  significantly  enlarged  the  potential  contributions  of  SSH  through  a 
systematic policy of integrating SSH in all societal challenges as well as in the LEIT parts of 
the  Programme.  On  average  37%  of  the  topics  in  the  Societal  Challenges,  LEIT,  Science 
with  and  for  Society,  Spreading  Excellence  and  Widening  Participation,  and  Research 
Infrastructures  combined  were  flagged  as  SSH-relevant  in  the  2014  and  2015  calls.  In 
addition,  SSH  played  a  major  role  in  the  Societal  Challenge  Inclusive,  Innovative  and 
Reflective Societies where 80% of topics were flagged as SSH. A total of € 212 million was 
awarded to SSH beneficiaries in 2014: €194 million under the Societal Challenges pillar and 
€18 million under the LEIT pillar. 

There was also evidence that SSH expertise was well represented in the evaluation panels. 
Out  of  the  688  evaluators  appointed  for  topics  flagged  as  SSH-relevant,  10%  had  a 
background in one or more SSH disciplines while 42% had an interdisciplinary background 
in  both  SSH  and  non-SSH  disciplines  or  in  hybrid  disciplines  with  an  SSH  component. 
Overall, 357 out of the 688 experts had some type of SSH expertise, which amounts to over 
50% of the experts.  

Human Resources and Mobility 

This  main  focus  of  the  Marie  Skłodowska-Curie  Actions  (MSCA)  in  2014  was  promoting 
innovative approaches to research training, stimulating interdisciplinary and international as 
well as inter-sector mobility. 

The MSCA has become the main EU instrument for fostering innovative doctoral training. 
In  2014,  137  research  training  networks  were  funded  with  a  total  budget  of  over  €  400 
million.  This  included  industrial  doctorates,  whereby  research  enterprises  and  universities 
jointly develop a doctoral programme in which a large part of the PhD is undertaken in the 

4 

 
 
 
non-academic sector, and programmes leading to a double or joint doctoral degree. In total 
600 companies took part in this. Furthermore, € 30 million was allocated to the co-funding 
of 12 doctoral programmes, in order to increase the leverage effect on regional, national and 
international funding programmes in Europe. 

Climate Action and Sustainable Development 

A target was set for at least 35 % of the Horizon 2020 budget to be invested in support of 
climate action and a 60% target for progress towards EU sustainability. While data available 
at  this  stage  covers  programmable  actions  only  (i.e.  LEIT  and  Societal  Challenges),  the 
latest estimate of progress on Sustainable Development indicates a figure of 50% and 32% 
for Climate Action. Biodiversity, with no target, is estimated at 3 %. 

Gender Equality 

In the Work Programme 2014-2015, gender issues were explicitly mentioned in more than 
100  topics  across  almost  all  sections.  These  topics  were  flagged  as  gender-relevant  on  the 
participant portal to ease access for applicants. One of the objectives for achieving gender 
equality in Horizon 2020 includes ensuring that women make up at least 40% of experts in 
evaluation panels and experts group. This target was almost met and initial results show that 
women accounted for 35% of the evaluators. 

International cooperation and agreements 

Horizon  2020  is  fully  open  to  international  participation  and  in  addition  targets  strategic 
areas of cooperation with key international partner countries and regions. 20% of all topics 
in Work Programme 2014-2015 were flagged as being specifically relevant for international 
cooperation, with the intensity of targeted actions varying across the different parts. Support 
was proposed for international cooperation flagship initiatives such as the Global Research 
Collaboration  for  Infectious  Disease  Preparedness,  the  Global  Alliance  for  Chronic 
Diseases,  the  International  Rare  Diseases  Research  Consortium3,  and  the  EU-Japan 
cooperation  in  the  area  of  critical  networks  and  computing  platforms.  With  the  move  to 
broader and less-prescriptive topics, there was a shift towards encouragement rather than the 
use of eligibility criteria to stimulate international cooperation. Nevertheless and given that 
entities from five large emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and Mexico) are 
no  longer  eligible  for  automatic  funding  from  Horizon  2020,  initial  findings  showed  an 
overall reduction in participation from international partner countries.  

In total, 12 countries became associated to Horizon 2020 through Association Agreements in 
the course of 2014. Norway and Iceland became associated in May 2014. The five Western 
Balkan  countries  (Albania,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  the  former  Yugoslav  Republic  of 
Macedonia,  Montenegro  and  Serbia),  the  Republic  of  Moldova,  Turkey  and  Israel  signed 
agreements with the European Union in summer 2014. In December 2014 the Association 
Agreement  was  signed  with  the  Faroe  Islands.  The  Association  Agreements  will  allow 
research entities from these countries to take advantage of the funding opportunities offered 
by Horizon 2020.  

3  

Cf. topics under the Health Coordination Activities call with an indicative budget of around € 17 million. 

5 

 
                                                 
An international agreement associating Switzerland to parts of Horizon 2020 was signed on 
5 December 2014. Switzerland signed an agreement where it is associated to the "Excellent 
Science"  pillar  of  Horizon  2020,  containing  the  European  Research  Council,  Future  and 
Emerging Technologies, Research Infrastructures, and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions; 
the actions under the specific objective “Spreading excellence and widening participation”; 
and finally the Euratom Research and Traning Programme and the activities carried out by 
the  European  Joint  Undertaking  for  ITER  and  the  Development  of  Fusion  for  Energy  for 
2014-2020. This Association Agreement is expected to last until 31 December 2016. At this 
stage,  and  depending  on  whether  Switzerland  ratifies  the  Protocol  extending  the  Free 
Movement  of  Persons  Agreement  to  Croatia,  it  would  be  followed  by  a  full  Association 
Agreement or Switzerland will remain with third country status. 

Widening Participation 

Horizon  2020  introduces  specific  measures  for  spreading  excellence  and  widening 
participation  in  those  Member  States  and  regions  with  a  relatively  low  research  and 
innovation performance. Horizon 2020 funds the following lines of action: the 'Teaming' of 
research  institutions  (creating  or  upgrading  centres  of  excellence),  which  received  167 
eligible  applications  from  all  widening  Member  States;  'ERA  Chairs'  (which  attract 
outstanding researchers to research institutions with a high potential for research excellence)' 
which received 85 eligible applications from almost all widening Member States;  Twinning' 
(significantly  strengthening  a  defined  field  of  research  through  links  with  internationally-
leading institutions), supported through a call open in 2014 but closing in 2015. Support is 
also  provided  for  COST  (European  Cooperation  in  Science  and  Technology)  which  is 
among  the  oldest  inter-governmental  cooperation  frameworks  in  Europe  on  science, 
technology and innovation.  These actions have a budget of about 800 million euros for the 
seven year period.  

4. Partnership with Industry 

The Innovation Investment package4 

In  2013  the  European  Commission  published  a  series  of  proposals  on  public-private  and 
public-public partnership initiatives. One year on, in May 2014, the Innovation Investment 
Package was officially adopted by the Member States. 

This sets up a new generation of public and private partnerships, which will pool research 
and innovation investments of over €22 billion. The package includes nine Joint Technology 
Initiatives (JTIs) that organise their own research agenda and award funding for projects on 
the  basis  of  open  calls.    Seven  of  these  were  already  launched  in  July  2014  as  were  four 
public-public partnerships (Article 185 initiatives). The EU's contribution of €9 billion to the 
package  will  unlock  a  €10  billion  investment  from  the  private  sector  and  €4  billion  from 
Member States 

4  

Innovation Investment Package 

6 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
Contractual Public Private Partnerships (cPPPs) 

The  European  Commission  launched  in  December  2013  eight  contractual  Public  Private 
Partnerships of strategic importance for European industry. Contrary to JTIs the contractual 
PPPs  do  not  organise  their  own  calls  but  funding  is  awarded  by  the  Commission  through 
open calls under the Horizon 2020 Work Programme. Contractual arrangements setting up 
those  eight  cPPPs  were  signed  by  the  Commission  and  chairpersons  of  specially-created 
industrial  research  and  innovation  associations,  representing  more  than  1,000  large  and 
small  enterprises  across  Europe.  A  ninth  cPPP  was  launched  in  October  2014.  The  nine 
contractual  Public  Private  Partnerships  were  launched  with  an  indicative  Commission 
funding  envelope  in  total  of  €  6.7  billion  for  the  duration  of  the  programme.  In  the  2014-
2015  Work  Programme  the  engagement  of  industry  was  fostered  by,  among  other  things, 
around €800 million in funding for contractual Public Private Partnerships (cPPPs). 

EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA (ERA)  

5. 
In  September  2014,  the  Commission  presented  its  second  ERA  Progress  Report  5which 
provides  an  overall  picture  of  progress  made  in  implementing  ERA  in  the  Member  States 
and a few of the Associated Countries. It shows that the ERA Partnership has proved to be 
successful and that the four ERA conditions for success are in place, namely: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Member States increasingly adopt measures in support of ERA; 

Stakeholder  organisations  within  the  ERA  Stakeholder  Platform  continue  to  work 
together in order to achieve a fully-functioning ERA.  

Policy-support  measures  are  in  place  at  EU  level,  and  ERA  is  embedded  in  the 
European Semester; 

The  ERA  monitoring  mechanism  is  operational  and  is  progressively  delivering 
robust data. 

Coordination of national research programmes  

In Horizon 2020 EU participation in joint calls implemented by Member States programmes 
via  the  new  European  Research  Area  -Networks  (ERA-NET)  instrument  increased.  At  the 
same time, Horizon 2020 supports the ten Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) put in place 
by Council. JPIs align national programmes to EU-wide strategic research agendas. They are 
important vehicles for ensuring the completion of ERA. 

6. 

POLICY FRAMEWORK 

European Semester 

Country-Specific  Recommendations  addressing  Research  and  Innovation  (R&I)  were 
adopted in the context of the European Semester of economic policy coordination. In 2014, 
Country-Specific  Recommendations  were  adopted  in  relation  to  improving  framework 

5  

ERA Progress Report 2014 

7 

 
 
 
                                                 
conditions  for  R&I  business  (Belgium  and  France),  prioritising  public investments  in  R&I 
(Germany, Italy  and  Spain), increasing the efficiency of these investments (Italy, Slovakia 
and  Spain)  and  their  leveraging  effect  on  R&I  business  through  smart  specialisation  and 
public-private cooperation (Portugal and Slovenia). 

Communication on Research and Innovation as Sources of Renewed Growth6 

The  June  2014  Communication  on  'Research  and  Innovation  as  Sources  of  Renewed 
Growth' provides a strong political narrative on the importance of the quality of investment 
in research and innovation for Europe. The Communication proposes putting forward three 
priorities for focus by Member States: The quality  of  strategy development  and  the  policy 
making process; the quality of programmes, including focusing on resources and improved 
funding mechanisms; and the quality of research and innovation performing institutions. 

Finally,  the  Annual  Growth  Survey  2015,  stressed  the  need  for  reforms  which  would 
improve  the  quality  and  efficiency  of  public  R&I  investments,  as  well  as  foster  an 
environment which is R&I business and investment friendly. 

European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) 

Horizon  2020  and  the  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  are  important  tools  for  
boosting research and innovation investment in the context of the EU budget and highlight 
the opportunities for synergies between the two policy frameworks in funding research and 
innovation projects. The ESIF will provide more than € 100 billion of grant funding during 
2014-2020  for  innovation  in  the  broad  sense,  including  support  to  core  Research  and 
Innovation of some € 40 billion.  

European Institite for Innovation and Technology (EIT) 

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology7 budget for the 2014 to 2020 period is 
EUR 2.38 billion as set out in the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and 
Innovation. In 2014 the first wave of EIT’s Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) 
have  steadily  grown  both  in  terms  of  budget,  activities,  and  results.  The  EIT  Community 
was further enlarged through the creation of two new KICs in the areas of healthy living and 
active ageing (EIT Health) and sustainable exploration, extraction, processing, recycling and 
substitution of raw materials (EIT Raw Materials).  

Financial Instruments 

The  Commission  and  the  European  Investment  Bank  (EIB)  launched  a  new  EU  financial 
instrument in the Summer of 2014. InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators will help SMEs, 
large companies and other innovative firms gain easier access to finance. InnovFin builds on 
the success of the Risk-Sharing Finance Facility, developed under  FP7.  InnovFin products 
will make available €24 billion of financing for research and innovation. InnovFin consists 
of a range of products from guarantees for intermediaries that lend to SMEs, to direct loans 

6  
7  

Communication on Research and Innovation as Sources of Renewed Growth 
EIT is under the responsibility of DG Education and Culture 

8 

 
 
 
                                                 
to  enterprises  -  helping  support  the  smallest  to  the  largest  R&I  projects  in  the  EU  and 
countries associated to Horizon 2020. 

Innovation and Entrepreneurship 

The Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan was launched in 2014 as a follow up to the review 
of  the  Small  Business  Act.  The  plan  sets  out  measures  to  support,  promote  and 
monitorentrepreneurship in Europe (including digital entrepreneurship). The Start-up Europe 
initiative,  part  of  this  plan,  aims  to  strengthen  the  business  environment  for  web  and 
Information  and  Communication  Technologies  (ICT)  entrepreneurs  so  that  their  ideas  and 
business can start and grow in the EU.   The Innovation Radar is a pilot initiative, launched 
in  2014,  which  aims  to  identify  high  potential  innovations  and  key  innovators  in  FP7, 
Competitiveness  and 
(CIP)-ICT-Policy  Suppot 
Programme (PSP) and Horizon 2020 projects.  

framework  Programme 

Innovation 

Open Science 

In  the  last  couple  of  years,  scientists  have  started  to  favour  open  access  to  scientific 
information, there have been more instances of involving citizens in research, and the advent 
of  big  data  opens  up  new  ways  of  doing  research  itself.  In  July  2014,  the  Commission 
launched  a  consultation  on  Science  2.0,  in  order  to  assess  the  degree  of  awareness  among 
stakeholders  of  the  trend  towards  Open  Science,  identify  possible  policy  implications  and 
actions to strengthen the competitiveness of the European science and research system. The 
results of the consultation will be made available online on Your Voice in Europe8. 

Open  access  is  one  important  aspect  of  the  changing  scientific  system.  In  Horizon  2020, 
open  access  to  scientific  publications  is  mandatory  for  all  beneficiaries.  In  what  concerns 
research data, a flexible pilot for open access to research data is also underway. The pilot is 
based  on  a  flexible  "opt-in/opt-out  system",  which  takes  into  account  the  need  to  balance 
openness  and  protection  of  scientific  information,  commercialisation  and  Intellectual 
Property  Rights  (IPR),  privacy  concerns,  security  as  well  as  data  management  and 
preservation questions.  

International Panel on Climate Change 

The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) met in 2014 and published its Fifth 
Assessment  Report  (AR5)  on  2  November  2014.  Numerous  EU  research  projects  funded 
under FP6 and FP7 played a key role in the Report’s conclusions. 

The  Report,  entitled  ‘Climate  Change  2014:  Impacts,  Adaptation,  and  Vulnerability’9
, 
concludes  that  responding  to  climate  change  involves  making  choices  about  risks  in  a 
changing world. This report will be instrumental in the forthcoming negotiations on Climate 
Change. 

8  
9  

Your Voice In Europe 
Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability 

9 

 
                                                 
The Ebola Outbreak 

The  outbreak  of  Ebola  in  West  Africa  constituted  one  of  the  most  serious  international 
health emergencies of 2014. The European Commission promptly supported urgent research 
on  Ebola  using  for  the  first  time  (for  research  actions)  the  exceptional  ground  of  the 
Financial  Regulation  for  the  duly  substantiated  emergency  case  and  signing  grant 
agreements within less than 2 months after having received proposals.  € 24.4 million from 
Horizon 2020 were deployed for research on Ebola in line with the priorities identified by 
the  World  Health  Organisation  and  in  cooperation  with  other  international  funders.   In 
addition  the  Commission,  together  with  the  pharmaceutical  industry  launched  the  IMI 
Ebola+  call  through  the  Innovative  Medicines  Initiative  (IMI)  public-private  partnership. 
€140  million  were  mobilised  from  Horizon  2020, which, in turn,  leveraged a  further  €101 
million from the pharmaceutical industry.  

7. 

JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE (JRC)  

In 2014 the JRC responded to a growing number of requests for scientific support to policy 
from  the  Commission  policy  services  related  to  the  EU’s  priorities,  especially  in  the 
framework  of  the  Europe  2020:  Europe’s  growth  strategy.  The  JRC  provided  direct 
scientific support to thematic policy areas such as: Economic and Monetary Union, Single 
Market,  Innovation,  Growth  and  Jobs,  Low  Carbon  Economy  and  Resource  Efficiency, 
Agriculture  and  Global  Food  Security,  Public  Health,  Safety  and  Security,  Nuclear  Safety 
and Security (Euratom programme), and Better Regulation and Impact Evaluation. 

8. 

DISSEMINATION AND EXPLOITATION 

Seventh Framework Programme10 

During  seven  years  of  FP7,  487  concluded  calls  received  nearly  136,000  proposals  – 
involving more than 601,000 applicants – out of which 97% were deemed elegible for the 
evaluation  procedure.  More  than  25,000  proposals  –  involving  more  than  130,000 
participants  –  were  retained  for  negotiations.  With  a  total  requested  EU  funding  of  €  41,7 
billion.  Proposals  had  an  average  success  rate  of  19%.  On  the  participation  of  Small  and 
Medium Enterprises (SMEs), 18.6% of all participants in grant agreements signed in 2013 
were SMEs. 

FP7 projects have so far generated 32,461 publications since the launch of the programme in 
2007.  The  cumulative  number  of  patent  applications,  a  good  indicator  of  exploitable 
innovation potential, stood at 1,185 at the end of the year.11 

10  
11 

European Commission (2014): Seventh FP7 Monitoring Report 
The  source  of  the  figures  shown  here  is  SESAM  (the  European  Commission  online  reporting  tool  for  FP7 
projects)/CORDA (Common Research Data Warehouse). The figures refer to the part of FP7 implemented by DG 
RTD. The 'People' Specific Programme has been excluded as, although it was initially managed by DG RTD, it is 
currently  managed  by  DG  EAC.  The  'Ideas'  Specific  Programme  has  also  been  excluded,  as  it  does  not  use 
SESAM. The part of FP7 implemented by DG CONNECT was also excluded, as it did not use SESAM.  

10 

 
 
                                                 
 
Impact and added value of EU Programmes and Projects12 

EU support for research and innovation has a single overriding objective:  Achievement  of 
impact. Through its support for research and innovation, the EU strives to achieve economic, 
social  and  environmental  impact  and  to  contribute  to  competitiveness,  growth  and  job 
creation  as  well  as  the  resolution  of  societal  challenges.  EU  support  to  research  and 
innovation is provided only when it can be more effective than national funding. Below are a 
few  examples  of  successful  projects  financed  under  FP7  which  demonstrate  the  European 
added value of the support provided, the concrete results and the impacts achieved:  

• 

• 

• 

The  EU-supported  'European  Clinical  Research  Infrastructure  Network'  (ECRIN) 
has developed a single European area for clinical research as it integrates national 
clinical research facilities into an EU-wide network able to provide support in any 
medical  field  through  specialised  services  and  infrastructure.  This  has  created  or 
strengthened  national  infrastructures  and  will  improve  healthcare  as  well  as 
Europe's scientific and industrial competitiveness. 

Addressing  common  European  societal  challenges  is  best  done  at  EU  level.  The 
WeSenseIt  project  developed  the  concept  of  a  citizen-based  water  observatory, 
where  citizens  -  such  as  volunteer  flood  wardens  in  the  UK  or  civil  protection 
volunteers  in  Italy  -  via  mobiles  and  social  media  can  be  active  in  capturing, 
evaluating  and  communicating 
levels,  creating  cost 
efficiencies and acting as early warning systems for over-stretched local authorities.  

information  on  water 

The  EU-funded  research  project  SOLAR-JET  produced  the  world's  first  'solar'  jet 
fuel  from  just  water  and  carbon  dioxide,  a  promising  technology  that  at  the  same 
time  enhances  energy  security  and  fights  climate  change  by  turning  a  greenhouse 
gas  into  a  useful  resource.  The  project  is  still  at  the  experimental  stage,  but  the 
results, so far, show potential to provide secure, sustainable and scalable supplies of 
aviation fuel as well as diesel and gasoline, or even plastics. . 

Dissemination of results in Horizon 2020 

The  effective  use  and  dissemination  of  project  results  in  Horizon  2020  is  key  and  will 
maximise the added value and impact of the new Framework Programme. Specific measures 
targeting exploitation of results were already launched in Horizon 2020 through initiatives 
such  as  inducement  prizes,  the  SME  instrument,  demonstration  projects,  and  the  InnovFin 
investment instruments.  

9. 

OUTLOOK FOR 2015 

The  Commission  remains  committed  to  delivering  the  objectives  of  the  Europe  2020 
Strategy.  Progress  has  been  assessed  on  the    flagship  initiative  ‘Innovation  Union’13, 
commitments. In particular, as to what concerns progress in the delivery of the actions that 
were put in place to fulfil the commitments, as well as examples of how these  actions are 
being implemented. 

12  
13  

DG RTD Annual Activity Report 2014 
State of the Innovation Union. Taking stock 2010-2014 

11 

 
                                                 
In 2014, the Work Programme cycle 2016-2017 began taking on board President Juncker’s  
political priorities. Horizon 2020 is set to play a role in this by contributing € 2.2 billion to 
the European Fund for Strategic Investments guarantee fund. The Work Programme 2016-
2017 will take into account lessons learned from the first Horizon 2020 calls and that these 
continue  to  deliver  topics  with  a  challenge-based  approach.  Topics  such  as  international 
cooperation,  social  sciences  and  humanities,  gender  dimension  will  be  addressed  more 
effectively in the Work Programme, and better use will be made of a whole range of funding 
instruments to promote innovation across Horizon 2020.  

Finally,  analysis  of  future  Horizon  2020  calls  will  be  undertaken  to  ensure  that  Horizon 
2020  is  better  than  its  predecessors  in  generating  scientific,  social,  environmental  and 
economic impact.   

12