Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme (MSCA) is part of the HORIZON EUROPE pillar one. Specifically, it aims to promote the mobility of researchers, as well as their collaboration between countries, sectors, and…
E²Tech4Cities 2018 took place in Brussels on the 7th of June as a part of the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) and Brussels Exporters Day. It was organized by Brussels Enterprise Europe Network and hosted by hub.brussels with the aim of organizing a networking event for those working in the energy efficiency field.
Hub.brussels also spoke of the role of the National Contact Points (NCPs) have for the local businesses. NCPs provide assistance with identifying suitable EU projects, support you with advice during the writing process as well as assess and give feedback to the proposal before it is submitted. However, they do not write the proposal for the applicant. NCPs also provide assistance throughout the project itself legal, financial, etc issues completely free of charge. Of course, the service is aimed at businesses registered in the NCP’s region, i.e in the case of hub.brussels it’s aimed at supporting businesses registered in Brussels.
Therefore, if you need any assistance in the process of your project, you may freely turn to your local NCP and they will provide you support in your local language. The list of NCP’s across Europe is available here.
If you need assistance with the finances of your project, you may turn to EFMC as we are here to help you out. See the list of our services here to find one suitable for you or contact us via email info@efmc.eu
Hub.brussels also introduced the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument. Your business may apply for the SME Instrument if your product or service idea is disruptive and your business qualifies as an SME.
To check if you qualify as an SME and for other useful tips regarding the SME Instrument see this site.
EASME has a number of open calls for Research & Innovation in the Sustainable Energy sector. See the list of open calls below for the following topics:
The Commission has published an overview of the budget plans for Research and Innovation, namely Horizon Europe and Euratom. You may have a look at the publication here
New features of Horizon Europe will be:
The European Innovation Council, which will provide support for start-ups and companies focusing on breakthrough innovation to scale up via two funding instruments.
EU-wide Research and Innovation missions will aim to create more impact by encouraging citizen involvement alongside stakeholders, the European Parliament and Member States and and focusing on the bold, ambitious goals.
Open science policy will put a greater emphasis on openness and sharing.
A new approach to Partnerships will rationalise the funding landscape.
Simpler rules will increase legal certainty and reduce bureaucracy.
Richer, Visionary, Simpler and Close to the market. Those seem the be the keywords and lofty rhetoric which is emanating from the newly envisaged Horizon Europe programme promoters and designers that the upcoming new Framework of the European Union for research and innovation which will replace H2020 from 2021 onwards.
The ninth edition of the EU Framework Programme (FP9) will benefit from a significantly higher funding injection compared with its predecessor, (ca. €97.6 billion) which will make it the most highly funded R&D programme ever in the Commissions’ history. Part of this cash injection is a 6% decrease in direct funding for agriculture which has been reallocated to fund Horizon Europe as Common Agriculture payments will now be capped at a maximum of €60,000 Euro per farmer and an increased financial contribution from all member states to the R&D budget.
The EU parliament was expecting €120 billion, lobbyists were pushing for €160 billion and at the end, despite expected Brexit-related headaches and financial shortfalls, this FP will be one of the few MFF headings to be actually increased accompanied in tandem with a doubling of Erasmus+ which is a truly remarkable achievement
The name of the new FP has been wisely chosen by Commissioner Moedas in order to reflect the vision of the new programme, which aims to capture stakeholders’ hopes and expectations, and marking the first step on the road to a more prosperous future for all EU citizens.
EU citizens’ perception and public knowledge is limited and the benefit and the importance of EU spending in research and innovation is influenced by for example high profile R&D achievements across the water in the USA such as when NASA discovers new planets which were in fact actually uncovered by an EU funded Belgian scientist. Commissioner Moedas realized that a renewed and more efficient communication plan of the EU around its FPs is fundamental to build consensus among citizens and stakeholders. A “new deal”, based on a type of mission specific approach, for EU research was felt to be required to be readily understandable to the public and capture their imagination and interest. Ambitions such as plastic-free oceans by 2030 or ensuring the survival of three out of four cancer patients by 2034 is akin to such lofty goals such as former US president John F. Kennedy had back in 1961, when he promised to send a man to the moon and return him safely. Ambitious, aiming high but ultimately achievable and realistic if all the parts of the jigsaw are put together.
