The Commission presents a Communication on the ex-post
evaluation of the Seventh Framework Programme carried out by an
external High Level Expert Group (HLEG), and submitted to the
Commission on 19 November 2015. The Communication sets out the
findings and recommendations of the HLEG and the Commission's
response.
To recall, the Seventh Framework Programme was
established under Decision No 1982/2006/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council, and was one of the largest
transnational competitive RTD programmes in the world with a budget
of EUR 55 billion. The main focus of FP7 was on science, especially
the promotion of collaborative research and excellence.
Key findings of FP7 excellence: the ex-post evaluation of FP7 cannot present the
complete picture on FP7 results and impacts, since 50% of the
projects promoted are still on-going. However, the Communications
presents the following figures:
- FP7 accounts for about 7% of total public expenditure
on R&I in the EU. However, both directly and by leveraging
private and Member States' funding, its economic impact on GDP and
employment is substantial. It has been estimated that FP7 will
increase GDP by about EUR 20 billion per year over the next 25
years through its indirect economic effects and that it will
create over 130,000 research jobs per year and 160,000 additional
jobs;
- so far, FP7 projects have generated 170,000
publications, with the share of publications in highly ranked
journals lying above EU and US averages;
- more than 1,700 patents and 7,400 commercial
exploitations have so far resulted from FP7
projects;
- on average, 11 organisations from six different
countries and nine different regions collaborate in each FP7-funded
project;
- FP7 Marie Curie Actions supported 50,000 researchers,
including 10,000 PhD candidates from 140 countries, stimulating the
mobility of researchers across Europe, and contributing to their
sustainable employment;
- the overall proportion of female evaluators was
slightly higher than the 40% target. In addition, 38% of the FP7
reported workforce was female.
HLEG recommendations and Commission
response
Recommendation (a): ensure focus on critical challenges and
opportunities in the global context: the Commission notes that,
in line with this recommendation, Horizon
2020 is strongly focused on the resolution of grand societal
challenges. Horizon 2020 aims to foster a permanent, structured
dialogue with the private sector and involve it strategically, and
to maximise the involvement of innovative SMEs. Furthermore, the
Commission will:
- implement a new strategic focus for Horizon
2020 in order to maximise its contribution to 'open innovation,
'open science' and 'open to the world';
- maximise the synergies between R&I in
thematic priorities of societal challenge areas and new and
emerging digital and key enabling technologies and
infrastructures;
- explore the need for, and the feasibility of, a
European Innovation Council as a means to boost innovation
and streamline existing instruments;
- facilitate the elaboration of important projects of
common European interest, which can foster vast deployment of
research into mature technologies.
Recommendation (b): align research and innovation
instruments and agendas in Europe:
the Commission notes that Horizon 2020 further strengthens
instruments already developed under FP7 – for instance,
ERA-NET CoFund and Article 185 initiatives – to pool resources
across Member States, define common strategic research agendas,
avoid duplication, and implement joint calls. Furthermore, the
Commission will:
- use the policy support facility and cohesion policy
capacity building support to assist Member States to implement
effective reforms of their research and innovation
systems;
- continue to foster synergies between Horizon 2020, the
Structural Funds and LIFE
programme;
- promote potential synergies with the European
Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI);
- explore the feasibility of setting up "Innovation
Deals" as a new way of addressing regulatory uncertainties and to
support the development and deployment of innovations, which could
help build investors' confidence.
Recommendation (c): integrate the key components of
the Framework Programmes more effectively: the Commission agrees with the HLEG that
fragmentation and the emergence of 'silos' in Framework Programmes
would undermine its efficiency and coherence. In line with this
recommendation, the Commission ensures coherence between the
different Horizon 2020 priorities, inter alia, through
cross-cutting issues and has established effective mechanisms to
coordinate with the Executive Agencies and to apply consistently a
single set of rules.
Recommendation (d): bring science closer to the
citizens: in line with this
recommendation, the Commission has brought science closer to the
citizen by involving them in the design of Horizon 2020, through
the implementation of dedicated and cross-cutting activities in
Horizon 2020 focusing on greater citizens involvement, and by
better communicating the impact that science can have on their
lives. Furthermore, the Commission will:
- further strengthen open access to research
publications and data;
- in line with the Better Regulation agenda, involve
citizens in defining user-driven research and innovation agendas,
in particular when preparing new Framework Programmes and specific
Work Programmes.
Recommendation (e): establish strategic programme
monitoring and evaluation: the
Commission recalls that it has established a monitoring and
evaluation system under Horizon 2020 based on key performance
indicators. Furthermore, the Commission will:
- ensure data quality and coherence to strengthen
monitoring and evaluation systems, in line with the 'Better
Regulation' requirements; explore the use of new text and data
mining tools, evaluation methodologies and reporting obligations
beyond the life time of the projects to improve data sets that will
allow monitoring and evaluating the longer-term socio-economic
impact of EU Framework Programmes;
- establish data links with external databases to
complete and improve the quality of data sets;
- support Member States in the national evaluation of
the impact of EU Framework Programmes;
- improve the support Horizon 2020 provides to the
knowledge base for policy making on local, national and European
level, including SME's competitiveness.
The Commission will report on the progress with the
implementation of the HLEG recommendations in the Horizon 2020
Interim Evaluation, due by the end of 2017.