Horizon 2020 bundles and pools all Europe’s collaborative efforts in the areas of research, technology and innovation, with the overriding objective of finding solutions for the major societal challenges of our times. The goal is to map out the entire innovation cycle from basic research to application-oriented research to marketability. 

As Europe’s largest region, North Rhine-Westphalia will make an important contribution through its researchers in science and business to the success of Horizon 2020. The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation began in 2014 and will run until 2020. Higher education benefits from European support for basic research and attractive funding instruments for applied and market-oriented research and innovation.

Horizon 2020 comprises three pillars:

• Excellent Science
  Safeguarding of the EU’s competitiveness through outstanding research achievements
• Industrial Leadership
  Support of industrial investment and research (especially in key technologies)
• Societal Challenges
  Support of research and innovation that contribute to solving the major societal challenges along the whole value chain (from research to market introduction). Societal challenges lie above all in the areas of climate, energy, health, food supply and transport.

The new work programmes started in 2018 and – like the remaining periods in the predecessor programmes – will be particularly lucrative. Viewed over the entire funding period, innovation experts expect total funding for North Rhine-Westphalia to the tune of € 1.8 billion.