COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document Proposals for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on establishing the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation COUNCIL REGULATION establishing the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community for the period 2021-2025 complementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
Date: 2018-06-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Subjects: EAEC, EU research policy, Framework Programme for Research and Development, diffusion of innovations, innovation, nuclear research, nuclear safety, research and development, scientific cooperation, vocational training

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 7.6.2018 SWD(2018) 308 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  Accompanying the document Proposals for a  REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination  DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on establishing the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation  COUNCIL REGULATION establishing the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community for the period 2021-2025 complementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation {COM(2018) 435 final}  - {COM(2018) 436 final} - {COM(2018) 437 final} - {SEC(2018) 291 final}  - {SWD(2018) 307 final}  - {SWD(2018) 309 final}  
 
 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

This  impact  assessment  accompanies  the  Commission  proposal  for  Horizon  Europe,  the 
2021-2027 Framework Programme for EU Research and Innovation, which will succeed the 
current  Programme,  Horizon  2020  (active  between  2014-2020),  and  the  proposal  for  the 
2021-2025 Research and Training Programme  of the European Atomic Energy  Community 
(Euratom Programme). 

Research  and  innovation  help  Europe  deliver  on  citizens'  priorities,  as  embodied  in  the 
Sustainable  Development  Goals  and  in  the  Paris  Agreement  on  fighting  climate  change,  to 
bring  about  sustainable  growth  and  high-quality  jobs,  and  to  solve  present  and  unforeseen 
global challenges. However, Europe overall currently underinvests in research and innovation 
compared to its main trading partners, and so risks being irreversibly outpaced. 

EU-level  investment,  through  successive  Framework  Programmes,  has  supported  the 
provision  of  public  goods  with  a  high  European  added  value.  This  added  value  comes 
from  the  Programmes’  focus  on  excellence  through  EU-wide  competition  and  cooperation. 
Framework  Programmes  support  training  and  mobility  for  scientists,  create  transnational, 
cross-sectoral  and  multidisciplinary  collaborations,  leverage  additional  public  and  private 
investment,  build  the  scientific  evidence  necessary  for  EU  policies,  and  have  structuring 
effects on national research and innovation systems. The significant and long-lasting impact 
of the Framework Programmes, in particular the current Programme, is acknowledged by the 
EU institutions, Member States and stakeholders alike.  

Horizon  Europe  is  built  on  the  evidence  and  lessons  learnt  from  the  Horizon  2020 
interim  evaluation,  and  the  recommendations  of  the  independent  High-Level  Group  on 
maximising  the  impact  of  EU  research  and  innovation.  The  new  Programme  will  be  an 
evolution,  not  a  revolution,  focusing  on  a  few  design  improvements  to  further  increase 
openness and impact. 

Horizon  Europe’s  general  objectives  stem  from  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European Union. These will be: to strengthen the scientific and technological bases of the 
Union  and  foster  its  competitiveness,  including  for  its  industry;  to  deliver  on  the  EU's 
strategic  policy  priorities  and  contribute  to  tackling  global  challenges,  including  the 
Sustainable  Development  Goals.  To  address  particular  research  and  innovation  challenges 
faced by the EU, Horizon Europe also has specific objectives. All objectives apply across the 
Programme, and all individual Programme parts will contribute to their achievement.  

The evolution from Horizon 2020 is reflected in the revamped structure. The three-pillar 
structure  will  be  continued,  but  redesigned  for  more  coherence,  both  between  and  within 
pillars, in support of the Programme objectives.  

Pillar  1  -  Open  Science  will  continue  to  focus  on  excellent  science  and  high-quality 
knowledge to strengthen EU’s science base through the European Research Council, Marie-
Skłodowska  Curie  Actions  and  Research  Infrastructures.  As  a  "bottom-up",  investigator-
driven pillar, it will continue to give the scientific community a strong role.  

Pillar 2 - Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness will better address EU policy 
priorities  and  support  industrial  competitiveness  by  integrating  the  Horizon  2020  Societal 
Challenges and Leadership in Enabling Industrial Technologies into five clusters (i.e. Health; 
Resilience and Security; Digital and Industry; Climate, Energy and Mobility; and Food and 
natural  resources).  The  clusters  will  better  support  the  full  spectrum  of  the  Sustainable 
Development  Goals,  and  increase  collaborative  research  and  innovation  across  sectors, 
disciplines and policy fields – boosting flexibility, focus, and impact. Due to its policy focus, 
the pillar will be implemented "top-down", through a strategic planning process ensuring the 

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involvement of stakeholders and society, and alignment with Member States' activities. The 
pillar  will  give  appropriate  visibility  to  industry’s  essential  role  in  achieving  all  the 
Programme’s objectives, not least in tackling global challenges, including by developing key 
enabling technologies for the future.  

Pillar 3 – Open Innovation will offer a one-stop shop for high-potential innovators with the 
European  Innovation  Council  and  increase  cooperation  with  innovation  ecosystems  and 
actors. These activities will be determined largely "bottom-up", integrating and reorganising 
Horizon  2020  activities,  such  as  Innovation  in  SMEs  (notably  the  SME  instrument),  Fast-
track to Innovation, as well as Future and Emerging Technologies. Innovation will continue 
to be supported throughout the whole Programme, not just in this innovation-focussed pillar.  

Horizon Europe will reinforce the European Research Area through: Sharing excellence 
(extending  the  Horizon  2020  actions  that  help  tackle  low  research  and  innovation 
performance  i.e.  Teaming,  Twinning,  ERA  chairs,  and  COST);  research  and  innovation 
reforms and policy, covering the Policy Support Facility; foresight activities; and Framework 
Programme monitoring, evaluation, dissemination and exploitation of results 

The  new  Programme  will  also  have  some  new  features  and  enhancements  of  existing 
elements. With Horizon 2020 well on track to deliver excellence, impact and openness, these 
changes  will  make  the  successor  Programme  achieve  even  more  impact  (through  the 
European  Innovation  Council  and  mission-orientation)  and  more  openness  (through 
strengthened international cooperation, a  reinforced  Open Science  policy, and a new policy 
approach to European Partnerships).  

The  European  Innovation  Council  will  help  place  the  EU  in  the  lead  for  breakthrough 
market-creating innovation. It will support high-risk, market-creating innovation projects that 
do  not  (yet)  generate  revenues,  to  bridge  the  “valley  of  death”  between  research  and 
commercialisation and help companies scale up. The tailor-made support to innovators will 
be channelled through two main funding instruments. The Pathfinder for Advanced Research 
will provide grants from the early technology stage (proof of concept, technology validation) 
to  the  early  commercial  stage  (early  demonstration,  development  of  business  case  and 
development of strategy). The Accelerator will support the further development and market 
deployment  of  breakthrough  and  market-creating  innovations,  to  a  stage where  they can  be 
financed  on  usual  commercial  terms  by  investors  (from  demonstration,  user  testing,  pre-
commercial  production  and  beyond,  including  scale-up).  It  will  place  a  particular  emphasis 
on innovation generated within the Pathfinder, although it will also fund projects from other 
parts  of  the  Programme,  such  as  the  European  Research  Council  or  the  Knowledge  and 
Innovation  Communities.  The  expected  implications  of  the  role  played  by  the  European 
Innovation Council include more innovation that creates the new markets of the future, more 
companies that scale up in Europe, higher growth among SMEs, and more entrepreneurship 
and risk-taking. 

Horizon Europe will see the introduction of a limited set of highly visible research and 
innovation  ‘missions’  under  Pillar  2  (but  potentially  also  providing  direction  to  the  other 
pillars).  Missions  will  prioritise  investment  and  set  directions  to  achieve  objectives  with 
societal  relevance,  thereby  creating  more  impact  and  outreach,  encouraging  a  systemic 
approach (moving from a view of narrow sectors to entire systems), and aligning instruments 
and  agendas  for  research  and  innovation  across  Europe.  Missions  will  either  accelerate 
progress towards a set scientific, technical or societal solution, by focusing large investment 
on a specific target; or transform an entire  social or industrial  system within an established 
timeframe.  They  will  be  selected  after  the  Programme  launch,  according  to  strict  selection 
criteria,  and  co-designed  with  Member  States,  stakeholders  and  citizens.  The  expected 
implications of this new mission approach include more cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary 

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cooperation,  higher  impact  on  global  challenges  and  EU  priorities,  and  a  reduced  gap 
between science and innovation, and society. 

Strengthened  international  cooperation  is  vital  for  ensuring  access  to  talent,  knowledge, 
facilities  and  markets  worldwide,  for  effectively  tackling  global  challenges  and  for 
implementing  global  commitments.  The  Framework  Programme  will  intensify  cooperation 
and  extend  openness  for  association  to  all  countries  with  excellent  science,  technology  and 
innovation  capacities,  to  make  cooperation  and  funding  of  joint  projects  as  smooth  as 
possible.  The  programme  will  continue  to  fund  entities  from  low/middle  income  countries. 
Entities  from  industrialised  and  emerging  economies  will  be  funded  only  if  they  possess 
essential  competences  or  facilities.  The  expected  implications  include  higher  excellence  in 
the  Programme,  more  influence  for  the  EU  in  shaping  global  research  and  innovation 
systems, and higher impact. 

Open  Science  will  become  the  modus  operandi  of  the  new  Programme,  going  beyond 
Horizon  2020’s  open  access  policy  to  require  immediate  open  access  for  publications  and 
data  (with  opt-out  possibilities  for  the  latter),  and  research  data  management  plans.  The 
Programme will encourage the proliferation of FAIR data (findable, accessible, interoperable, 
and  re-usable)  and  support  a  sustainable  and  innovative  scholarly  communications 
ecosystem.  It  will  foster  activities  to  improve  researcher  skills  in  Open  Science  and  the 
reward  systems  that  promote  this. Research  integrity  and citizen  science  will  play a  central 
role, as will the development of a new generation of research assessment indicators. 

The new approach to European Partnerships will be more impact-focussed. The need to 
establish future European Partnerships or renew existing ones will be identified as part of the 
strategic  programming  process  for  the  Framework  Programme.  All  European  Partnerships 
will  be  open  to  all  types  of  stakeholders  (e.g.  industry,  Member  States  and  philanthropic 
foundations)  and  will  be  limited  in  time,  with  clear  conditions  for  the  phasing  out  of  the 
Framework Programme funding. They will be based on the principles of Union added value, 
transparency,  openness,  impact,  leverage  effect,  long-term  financial  commitment  from  all 
parties,  flexibility,  coherence  and  complementarity  with  Union,  local,  regional  national  and 
international  initiatives.  The  future  partnership  landscape  will  ensure  optimal  coherence 
between Framework Programme activities and partnerships. There will be only three types: i) 
co-programmed European Partnerships, based on memoranda of understanding or contractual 
arrangements;  ii)  co-funded  European  Partnerships,  based  on  a  single,  flexible  co-fund 
action; iii) institutionalised European Partnerships (based on Article 185 or 187 of the Treaty 
on the Functioning of the European Union). Following a life-cycle approach, the Framework 
Programme will set out the criteria for selecting, implementing, monitoring and phasing out 
all European Partnerships. 

The changes to the Programme's structure and the improvements to it will facilitate the 
achievement  of  the  Programme's  objectives,  making  it  more  effective  and  helping  it 
generate even more economic benefits and value for money. These effects will be amplified 
by  strengthened  synergies  and  complementarities  with  other  EU  programmes,  for  example 
through the Seal of Excellence. 

Efficient  delivery  is  essential  for  meeting  all  the  objectives.  It  is  also  key  to  achieving 
higher  impact  and  further  simplification.  Building  on  the  achievements  of  Horizon  2020, 
simplification  remains  a  continuing  endeavour  also  in  the  new  Programme.  Several 
improvements have been made to streamline delivery for impact. The Programme will aim at 
further  simplification  within  the  present  real  cost  reimbursement  system  with  its  simplified 
funding model. Increased use will be made of project funding against fulfilment of activities 
(i.e.  lump  sum)  and  other  simplified  forms  of  funding  allowed  by  the  new  Financial 
Regulation.  Cross-reliance  on  audits  across  EU  programmes  and  acceptance  of  usual  cost 

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accounting practices will be developed. To increase flexibility, the Programme will support 
the intersection of disciplines and sectors and allow allocation of funds between and within 
pillars to react swiftly to emerging issues or challenges. Further improvements to the proposal 
submission  and  evaluation  process  will  be  envisaged  by  continuously  trying  to  reduce  the 
'time to grant' and by improving feedback to applicants. The evaluation criteria, process and 
involvement of independent experts will underscore the Programme's excellence and impact. 
Innovation  support  schemes  will  be  streamlined  under  the  European  Innovation  Council, 
while  the  complementarity  between  grants  and  financial  instruments  could  be  reinforced 
through blended finance. 

Impact  depends  ultimately  on  the  dissemination  and  exploitation  of  research  and 
innovation data and results, and it needs to be effectively captured and communicated. An 
ambitious and comprehensive strategy will increase the availability of such data and results 
and  accelerate  their  uptake  to  boost  the  overall  impact  of  the  Programme.  Portfolios  of 
mature results will be exploited in synergy with other EU programmes to ensure their uptake 
at  national  and  regional  level,  maximising  European  innovation  potential.  This  will  be 
complemented  by  effective  communication  and  outreach  campaigns  that  build  trust  and 
engage citizens. 

Progress towards  the  Programme’s  objectives  will  be tracked  along  'impact  pathways' 
(on  scientific,  societal,  and  economic  impact).  The  impact  pathways  will  be  time-sensitive, 
distinguishing between the short, medium and long term. The impact pathway indicators will 
contain both qualitative and quantitative information, the availability of which will depend on 
the  Programme's  stage  of  implementation.  Individual  programme  parts  will  contribute  to 
these indicators to varying degrees and through various mechanisms. The data behind the key 
impact pathway indicators will be collected in a centrally managed and harmonised way that 
imposes  minimum  reporting  burden  on  beneficiaries,  including  using  unique  identifiers  for 
applicants  and  sourcing  data  automatically  from  existing  external  public  and  private 
databases.  Baselines,  targets  and  benchmarks  will  be  established  before  the  Programme’s 
launch.  Management  and  implementation  data  from  the  Programme  will  continue  to  be 
collected  in  near real-time.  An  analysis  of  progress  on  key  dimensions  of  management  and 
implementation  will  be  carried  out  every  year.  Interim  and  ex-post  evaluations  will  ensure 
that methodologies are consistent and coverage is comprehensive. 

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