Fostering synergies between Horizon 2020 and Cohesion policy: a concrete

example : the Seal of Excellence

Dimitri CorpakisHead of Unit RTD.B5

Spreading excellence and Widening participationdimitri.corpakis@ec.europa.eu

Luxembourg, 15/09/2015

Europe’s innovation divide undermines competitiveness

Large parts of the EU out of ‘sync’ Modest and Moderate Innovators holding back the EU as a

whole Grand policy designs at risk without a sound and functioning

base Identification of priorities and strategies of crucial importance

– yet still, among the major bottlenecks Horizon 2020 and the ESIF among Europe’s most powerful

tools for closing the innovation gaps and advance growth and prosperity

EC DG RTD.B.5 DC 2

• 1. Smart & inclusive growth (€451bn)

• 2. Sustainable growth, natural resources (€373bn)• 3. Security and citizenship (€16bn)• 4. Global Europe (€58bn)• 5. Administration (€61.6bn)

Education, Youth, Sport

Connecting Europe

CohesionCompetitive Business SMEs

Horizon 2020

MFF 2014-2020

ESIF & H2020 are part of the same budget envelope:

Total EU budget 2014 – 2020: 960 billion EU

EU R&D Policy – Horizon 2020 EU Cohesion Policy

Differences > Excellence based / Non-territorial approach > Socio economic development/ Place-based approach

> Direct management - mostly awarded directly to final beneficiaries

> Awarded through shared management to national and regional public intermediaries

> Mostly competitive calls addressed mainly to international groupings through peer-review based on excellence criteria

> Mostly non-competitive attribution addressed to regional players (single beneficiaries) based on strategic planning negotiation

> Bi-annual work programmes > 7-years OPs

Complementarities > Horizon 2020 focuses on tackling major societal challenges, maximising the competitiveness impact of research and innovation and raising and spreading levels of excellence in the research base (widening)

+ single beneficiary (SME) + simplification

> Cohesion policy will maximise the competitiveness impact of research and innovation acting as a capacity building instrument via smart specialisation, based on learning mechanisms and critical skills in regions and Member States + interregional possibilities.

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H2020 ESIF

Understand specific objectives & features

Smart specialisation

PolicyPolicy Research and Innovation

Research and Innovation

Why do we foster synergies between Horizon 2020 and ESIF ?Scarce resources: More efficiency Best use of public funds

Synergies between Horizon 2020 and ESIF aim at maximising quantity, quality and impact of research

and innovation investments through interactions between the two policy frameworks

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Regional PolicyRegional Policy

Horizon 2020

Marie Skłodowska-Curie KICs

PPPs

ESFRI

Business Advisory services

KETs

prizes

SME instrument

Combining Horizon 2020 & ESIFthrough funding of successive / parallel / alternative / particular projects

SME

Pilot lines

Financial instruments

ESI Funds

R&I Infrastructures and Equipment

Skills

Excellent R&I

DemonstrationPilots

procurement

KETs Business Innovation

Procurement

Grant agreements

Research & Development Innovation MarketCapacity BuildingNational/Regional R&I systems

Typical synergy actions driven by the ESIF OP include (non-exhaustive list of examples):

• Support for investment of research infrastructure and equipment including competence centres (combination of research and advanced training centres)

• Support to the whole innovation cycle through improving the overall framework conditions for businesses (but also support measures towards social innovation)

• Support to research actions and infrastructure investments in the area of Key Enabling Technologies (KETS)

• Preparation of research and innovation stakeholders towards a better participation in the Horizon 2020 Calls (support via training, raising awareness, networking and partner identification)

• Support to downstream measures like exploitation and commercialisation of finished or about to finish research projects

• Reinforcement of the local impact (including additional work packages) of agreed Horizon 2020 projects (that are by definition transnational) 7

PolicyPolicy Research and Innovation

Research and Innovation

Who has to act ? Key role for national and regional authorities

as they plan future investments on research and innovation, including from the ESIF

Research stakeholders (Public/ private): they should be better informed about the said investment plans and operational measures

Horizon 2020 National Contact Points Commission services

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Introducing the Seal of Excellence

A concrete example of operational synergies between Horizon 2020 and the ESIF

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Declaration on Seal of Excellence

Declarations of the Commission (Framework Programme) 2013/C 373/02 of 20.12.2013

‘Union level intervention enables EU-wide competition to select the best proposals, thereby raising levels of excellence and providing visibility for leading research and innovation.

The Commission considers that positively evaluated European Research Council, Marie Sklodowska-Curie, teaming actions, phase-2 SME instrument or collaborative project proposals that could not be funded for budgetary reasons, have still met the Horizon 2020 criterion of excellence.

Upon approval of the participants, this information can be shared with the responsible authorities.

The Commission therefore welcomes any initiatives to fund such projects by national, regional or private sources. In this context, cohesion policy also has a key role to play through building capacity.’

The Declaration

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STEP 1 - IDENTIFY THE PROJECTS ABOVE THRESHOLD BUT NOT FUNDED WHICH ARE CONSIDERED SUITABLE FOR A SEAL OF EXCELLENCE (SoE)T

O BEFunded

Meriting funding...

Rejected: not ready for funding

Funding threshold due to H2020 budget availability

Quality threshold:

The SEAL OF EXCELLENCE:

target population

'Seal of excellence'

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STEP 2.PROVIDE THE APPLICANTS ABOVE THRESHOLD WITH A SEAL OF EXCELLENCE CERTIFICATE ANNEXED TO THE REJECTION LETTER

It will contain: a standard text explaining that the proposal was subject to strict peer review and positively assessed the necessary data for identifying the proposal and the applicant

(proposal number, acronym, title, applicant PIC, legal name, legal address)

document validity to be checked through Commission services/agency

The accompanying letter will indicate that: the certificate can be used to get in contact with other funding

bodies to explore other funding possibilities, as for instance from national/regional Managing Authorities of the Structural Funds (hyperlink to a website to find the relevant Managing Authority)

The SEAL OF EXCELLENCE: the format

First implementation of the Seal of Excellence: The SME Instrument

• For all types of innovative SMEs (EU-28 + H2020 AC) showing a strong ambition to develop, grow and internationalise

• Single company support possible• From idea to market through three phases

of continuous support• No obligation for applicants to sequentially

cover all three phases• 70% funding (as a general rule)• Mature ideas with a clear European

dimension

2015 Intermediary Call Deadlines or "Cut-Off" Dates

Phase 1

18/03/2015

17/06/2015

17/09/2015

25/11/2015

Phase 2

18/03/2015

17/06/2015

17/09/2015

25/11/2015

Source: RTD B3

The SME Instrument : Seamless Business Innovation Support from Mature Idea to Market

EU Grant of € 50,000 (lump sum)

EU Grant of € 500,000 to 2.5 million (indicative amount)

• No grant, but… • Coaching support• Market and Investment

Readiness support• Promotion / networking with

financiers & clients• … and more indirect support!

Source: RTD B3

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1. Excellence • Clarity and pertinence of the objectives; • Credibility of the proposed approach; • Soundness of the concept, including trans-disciplinary considerations; • Extent that proposed work is ambitious, has innovation potential, and is beyond the state of the art (e.g. ground-breaking objectives, novel concepts and approaches).

2. Impact • Enhancing innovation capacity and integration of new knowledge; • Strengthening the competitiveness and growth of companies by developing innovations meeting the needs of European and global markets, by delivering such innovations to the markets; • Any other environmental and socially important impacts; • Effectiveness of the proposed measures to exploit and disseminate the project results (including management of IPR), to communicate the project, and to manage research data.

3. Quality and efficiency of the implementation*/** • Coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, including appropriateness of the allocation of tasks and resources; • Appropriateness of the management structures and procedures, including risk and innovation management.

The SME instrument:The evaluation criteria

SEAL OF EXCELLENCE: KEY TAKE HOME MESSAGES

> EXCELLENT PROJECTS, NOT LEFT-OVERS from Horizon 2020

> GREAT OPPORTUNITY to exploit H2020’s highly sophisticated evaluation system: leading to GAIN TIME, use RESOURCES EFFICIENTLY IN A PERIOD OF SCARCE RESOURCES and INCREASE R&I PERFORMANCE AND IMPACT at local level> IMPLEMENTATION RESPECTING ESIF RULES POSSIBLE and WELCOMED BY THE COMMISSION

> PROCESS WORKS IF KEPT SIMPLE, possibly 'automatic'

> THE COMMISSION SERVICES WILL SUPPORT YOU

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Research and Innovation

Research and Innovation

Defining an overall approach for synergies in the INTERREG context

Establish national –regional priorities through a bottom-up collaborative process towards a place-based smart specialisation strategy

Integrate these priorities in the appropriate Operational Programmes

Translate these priorities in policy measures on research and innovation

Align local and regional priorities to the European ones as much as possible, without disregarding local particular strengths and opportunities

Useful Links Guide for authorities on synergies between ESIF and Horizon2020 and other EU programmes:

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/activity/research/index_en.cfm Financial instruments in ESIF programmes 2014-2020 - short reference guide for Managing Authorities

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/thefunds/fin_inst/pdf/fi_esif_2014_2020.pdf

Horizon 2020 regulations & rules for participation: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/funding/reference_docs.html

Horizon 2020 SME instrument / On line Manual / FAQ: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/funding/sme_participation.html http://

ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/cross-cutting-issues/sme_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/faq.html#f16

FUNCTIONAL MAILBOX FOR YOUR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST IN COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE: RTD-SEAL-OF-EXCELLENCE@ec.europa.eu

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Credits:Magda de CarliDeputy Head of Unit RTD.B5

Learn more:http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/index_en.cfm

Thanks a lot for your

attention