© Wonderlane
© Wonderlane

H2020 ‘too complex’ for some SMEs

The European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) has released a report arguing for more transparency for Horizon 2020 applicants.

In particular, ITRE have criticised the European Commission for the lack of information that is provided with regards to the funding programme. The report notes that, for example, detailed statistics on the success rate of Horizon 2020 and the SME Instrument are not readily available on websites promoting the services. Further, they argue, there is an absence of detailed instructions for start-ups and young companies to participate in competitions to get more funding.

Belgian MEP Philippe De Backer told Science|Business that, although Horizon 2020 is a big improvement over Framework Programme 7, the previous funding initiative, it still has weaknesses that should be addressed: “I still see rules that are too complex for small businesses, gaps in the quality of feedback from evaluators, and proposal re-submissions which further depress the low success rate.”

The report lists the low success rate as the main problem with Fast Track to Innovation funding, pointing out that the success rate for the first two cut-off periods averaged 6.25%, and notes that low budgets for certain areas of dedicated funding mean that some projects which score above the threshold for funding nevertheless could not be given grants. This low success rate has been seen by some as a failing of Horizon 2020, and the report suggests that it has contributed to a lack of interest from some researchers, who are no longer willing to apply.

The ITRE recommend more transparency in application procedures and praises some areas of the current implementation of Horizon 2020, including ensuring that priorities such as gender equality and ensuring results are available in open access publications, which the report says are making progress towards the commission’s targets.