Scheme to help failed bids get regional funding
The European Commission has launched a new initiative to help improve synergies between EU funding for research and regional policy.
The Seal of Excellence scheme will allow regions to recognise the ‘quality label’ awarded to promising project proposals submitted under Horizon 2020 that were not successful in receiving funding.
The scheme will promote those bids in order to gain access to different funding sources, such as the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and other national or regional investment programmes. The strategy was launched at the ‘Open Days – Week of European Regions and Cities’ event in Brussels.
Making the announcement, European Research Commissioner Carlos Moedas said: “EU regions are already a major investor in quality research and innovation in Europe. Through the ‘Seal of Excellence’, they can benefit from the world class Horizon 2020 evaluation system to easily identify the best projects in their regions to support with their funds.”
European Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Creţu added that there was “€100bn worth of investments” for R&I from the European Regional Development Fund, including specific assistance for SMEs and entrepreneurs.
“The Seal of Excellence will help identify and support innovative projects and help them grow and compete internationally,” Creţu said.
The ‘Seal of Excellence’ quality label will be awarded to promising projects submitted under Horizon 2020 that could not secure funding due to budgetary constraints, but received high assessment scores in the demanding and independent evaluation process.
In its pilot phase, the Seal of Excellence will first be given to proposals by SMEs submitted under the research and innovation framework programme’s SME instrument.
Markku Markkula, president of the European Committee of the Regions, commented: “Thanks to the Seal of Excellence, regions and cities can include in their innovation and investment plans outstanding SMEs projects that comply with their growth objectives and priorities.”
The Committee will also develop a Knowledge Exchange Platform to benefit local authorities and in order to further increase synergies between Horizon 2020 and ESIF.
It is anticipated that the scheme could be extended to cover more areas of Horizon 2020.
