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Ex-post evaluation of Horizon 2020

02. Feb 2024

On 29 January 2024, the European Commission published the report on the ex-post evaluation of Horizon 2020 (the EU's previous research and innovation programme, running from 2014 to 2020 with a budget of nearly €80 billion).

Accordingly, Horizon 2020-funded projects have already made a significant contribution to the advancement of scientific knowledge with over 276,000 peer-reviewed publications (of which almost four percent are among the top 1% of the world's most frequently cited publications). Horizon 2020 contributed to strengthening research skills and careers, in particular through the (cross-sectoral and transnational) MSCA funding of almost 50,000 researchers. MSCA fellowship grantees (from FP7) also had advantages (in the form of higher success rates) when applying for ERC grants (in Horizon 2020). The report also predicts a benefit of around five euros for every euro invested in Horizon 2020 (measured by the impact on GDP in the EU by 2040). The average cost of a project application in Horizon 2020 is estimated as a range between €18,000 and €37,000.

Regarding lessons-learned and further improvements:

• Funding constraints and concentration: An additional €159 billion would have been needed to fund all the high-quality proposals submitted. In addition, half of all allocated funding went to beneficiaries in just four countries (Germany, UK, France and Spain).
• The evaluation underlines that lump sum funding can yield efficiency benefits by keeping the financial error rates in check and reducing reporting costs of beneficiaries.
• The programme could also benefit from a targeted use of the two-stage application process, especially in areas with low success rates and a high volume of unsuccessful applicants.
• The average time-to-grant period fell to 187 days (excluding ERC grants) from 313 days under FP7. However, further tightening this target might not be desirable as it could inadvertently increase financial error risks.
• Broadening participation to entities located in the least R&I performing Member States improved only at a modest rate, and with significant differences among countries.

Outlook: The insights and lessons of this final evaluation of Horizon 2020 will play an important role both in guiding the ongoing implementation of Horizon Europe and in shaping the policy discussions regarding the preparation of the next EU framework programme (FP10, starting in 2028).