Innovate UK: It’s good to be back in Horizon Europe

On 7 September 2023, the UK Government and the EC announced the successful outcome of their negotiations on UK association to Horizon Europe.

The announcement of the UK-EC deal to associate to Horizon Europe has been met with an overwhelming support from universities, businesses and research organisations across the country – it is good to be back and it is a significant moment for the UK research and innovation community. This deal provides our businesses and scientists with a stable basis for international collaboration – it enables us to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of our European partners, and offers an opportunity for the UK to contribute with its capabilities and skills to jointly develop solutions to key industrial and societal challenges such as net zero, digital technologies, sustainable agriculture, health and transport, to name a few.

We are delighted that UK researchers and businesses will now be able to bid into Horizon, certain that all successful UK applicants will be covered through the UK’s association (or through the guarantee) for the remainder of the programme. All calls in Horizon’s Work Programme 24 will be covered by association, with many opening this Autumn. The UK Guarantee scheme has now been extended to cover remaining calls under Work Programme 2023.

We have a long tradition of collaborating with our European partners, dating back to the first Framework Programme on Research and Development in 1984. Under the previous Framework Programme the UK established over 230,000 collaborative links, and we will now be able to play a role collaborating on AI, Data and Robotics Partnerships, or the Cancer Mission aiming to help more than 3 million people by 2030. 

Being back is a joyous occasion and a clear signal that collaboration is the key to solving global challenges. Our team of National Contact Points (NCPs) for Horizon Europe at Innovate UK and UKRI plays a key role in supporting UK organisations to engage with their European counterparts, to join and lead collaborations. We are ready to support them to access and re-engage with the Horizon Europe programme and to help with networking and brokerage opportunities both in the UK and Europe. We are also keen to speak to you, to explain the Association deal, and to help forge relationships and collaborations. Research and innovation is a contact sport and are we are back in the game!

I encourage you to get in touch - we are looking forward to working together.

For more information please contact Ewa Bloch, Head of Europe at Innovate UK and see this link. 

This article was first published by Innovate UK