The European Commission has presented calls for projects under Horizon 2020, the EU’s €80 billion research and innovation programme.

Worth more than €15 billion over the first two years, the funding is intended to help boost Europe’s knowledge-driven economy and tackle issues that will make a difference in people’s lives. This includes 12 areas that will be a focus for action in 2014/2015, including topics such as personalised healthcare, digital security and smart cities.

European Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said: “It’s time to get down to business. Horizon 2020 funding is vital for the future of research and innovation in Europe, and will contribute to growth, jobs and a better quality of life. We have designed Horizon 2020 to produce results and we have slashed red tape to make it easier to participate. So I am calling on researchers, universities, businesses including SMEs and others to sign up!”

For the first time, the Commission has indicated funding priorities over two years, providing researchers and businesses with more certainty than ever before on the direction of EU research policy. Most calls from the 2014 Budget are already open for submissions with more to follow over the course of the year.

Calls in the 2014 Budget alone are worth around €7.8 billion, with funding focused on the three key pillars of Horizon 2020. These are Excellent Science (European Research and Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships for younger researchers); Industrial Leadership (€1.8 billion to support Europe’s industrial leadership in areas like ICT, nanotechnologies, advanced manufacturing, robotics, biotechnologies and space); and Societal Challenges, with €2.8 billion for innovative projects addressing Horizon 2020’s seven societal challenges, broadly: health; agriculture, maritime and bioeconomy; energy; transport; climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials; reflective societies; and security.

Horizon 2020 is the EU’s biggest ever research and innovation framework programme with a seven-year budget worth nearly €80 billion. Most EU research funding is allocated on the basis of competitive calls, but the budget for Horizon includes funding also for the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission’s in-house science service, and the European Institute for Innovation and Technology, and research carried out within the framework of the Euratom Treaty. Separate calls will also be published under specific partnerships with industry and member states.

http://ec.europa.eu/research/