Irish companies will be able to apply for €1.25 billion in research grants over the next seven years under a scheme due to be launched at the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) today.
Horizon 2020 aims to commit €79 billion to research and innovation in Europe between now and 2020.
Horizon 2020 will be launched this morning by Ireland’s EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, and by Minister for Research and Innovation Seán Sherlock.
The budget for Horizon 2020 is 30 per cent higher than that of a previous fund - the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7). The new fund has an additional €600 million of extra funding available to Irish companies
Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are being encouraged to engage in large collaborative projects or to seek support for highly innovative smaller companies.
“The amount of red tape has been slashed and a risk finance support for SMEs is being put in place to generate commercial value from their research, resulting in economic growth and job creation” said Minister Sherlock.
Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn outlined the opportunities for Ireland's economy and society presented by Horizon 2020: "Investment in research, innovation and science is essential if Europe and Ireland are to create new high-quality jobs. Horizon 2020 funding is based on competitive calls that are open to everyone. It is up to individual researchers, research organisations, companies or other organisations to get involved."
The Commissioner urged Irish companies and researchers to ‘be ambitious, find partners to collaborate with and apply now”.
She also promised that there will be a lot less bureaucracy that in previous schemes.
National director of Horizon 2020 Dr Imelda Lampkin said Enterprise Ireland is driving participants to go for bigger and more valuable projects over the next seven years.
