16,000 applications to first round of Horizon 2020 calls
16,000 applications to first Horizon 2020 calls © NASA Earth Observatory

16,000 applications to first round of Horizon 2020 calls

Some 16,000 applications have been received by the European Commission in the first calls of Horizon 2020, according to Robert-Jan Smits, director general of DG Research and Innovation.

Speaking at the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) 2014, in Copenhagen, Denmark, he said that the Commission was “over-subscribed by a factor of nine”.

The amount of applications were almost double the oversubscription rate in the first round of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The first round success rate for Horizon 2020 applications will therefore drop to 11%, half that of FP7.

Smits said one reason for the heavy subscription to Horizon 2020’s first set of calls could be the decreasing public investment in R&D in countries such as Italy and Spain.
The number of submissions from women was 23% of the total, up from FP7’s 20%, whilst 40% of those evaluating submissions will be women.

He said that the evaluation phase will now begin and once complete, the quality of applicants will be seen. Smits added that he is advising National Contact Points to discourage researchers with weak bids from applying to the programme.