RTD), the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and. Culture (DG ... for Communica- tions Networks, Content an
R ESEARCH E XECUTIVE A GENCY First class support for European research that matters
Research Executive Agency
EA in numbers 02
on 2020
REA’s strengths Availability & responsiveness of staff, service culture & proximity to clients
REA
14-2020
€17 billion
’s Strengths
in funding
Support for EU research policy goals
Transparency, accountability
82 % Efficiency of beneficiaries were
very satisfied or satisfied
with REA’s services
Concrete support to industrial leadership
Substantial contribution to European scientific excellence
Visibility of funding opportunities
700 000 ARES documents treated per year
Clarity of information & requests
FOR EUROPEAN RESEARCH For more information: http://ec.europa.eu/rea
© Covent Garden architects: ART & BUILD Architect / MONTOIS PARTNERS
Impact of innovation on daily life
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The Executive Agencies of the European Commission Executive Agencies help the European Commission manage EU programmes and are set up for a fixed period. By focusing on programme implementation, Executive Agencies provide economies of scale and are able to operate more efficiently, with lower costs and increased proximity to beneficiaries of EU funding. The Research Executive Agency (REA) is part of this effective and successful management mode, established by the European Commission.
The Research Executive Agency (REA) The Research Executive Agency (REA) is a funding body created to maximise the efficiency and impact of EU research and innovation programmes. Set up in 2007 in Brussels, the Agency became fully operational from mid-2009, with a mandate to manage large parts of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities (FP7). Since 2014, REA has managed a substantial part of Horizon 2020, the biggest EU research and innovation programme so far, with almost EUR 80 billion of funding available between 2014 and 2020. The Agency operates in a political framework created by the European Commission. It focuses on managing research proposals and funded projects under its portfolio, as well as providing services to all activities funded under Horizon 2020. The REA’s core mission is: ‣ to deliver efficient and effective support to its stakeholders (applicants, beneficiaries and independent experts) and to the European Commission’s services; ‣ to establish close contact with beneficiaries of EU funds; ‣ Through this, to guarantee high visibility of the EU. The REA ensures that the projects it manages have a real impact on tackling societal challenges and boost European competitiveness. The Agency has developed a performance-based and service-oriented culture and prides itself on reaching ambitious targets monitored against key performance indicators (KPIs). These measure the most critical aspects of the REA’s performance, and provide a useful insight into its most significant achievements. Finally, the REA is an attractive workplace. In a 2016 internal survey, the vast majority of REA staff declared that they were very satisfied working for the REA and considered the Agency to be a pleasant working environment.
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The REA mandate and responsibilities As a result of the successful management of its initially delegated activities (12 % of the full FP7 budget under its first mandate), the REA’s mandate was extended by the European Commission for Horizon 2020. The Agency’s remit has expanded with the new EU Research Framework, Horizon 2020, and it now manages 18 % of the Horizon 2020 budget. The REA’s lifetime will extend until 2024 and the number of staff is expected to reach 750 by 2020. Under the new mandate, the REA continues to support various Directorates-General (DGs) of the European Commission, which are in charge of all policy aspects of their respective research actions. The REA is directly linked to the following DGs: the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC), the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI), the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) and the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME). The REA therefore; ‣ manages the legacy of the FP7 actions from the previous mandate (Marie Curie actions, space and security research, SME actions);
‣ manages a large share of the following Horizon 2020 actions: • • • • • • • •
Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions future and emerging technologies - FET Open space research food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and reflective societies secure societies - protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens spreading excellence and widening participation science with and for society;
‣ continues to provide support serving new clients and providing more services; • expert management – issues, contracts, and pays expert evaluators for all of Horizon 2020 except the European Research Council Executive Agency and certain Joint Undertakings, • validation services – verifying legal existence and legal status of participants in Horizon 2020, including the assessment of financial capacity, • logistical support for project evaluations, • management of the Research Enquiry Service, which answers questions from applicants, participants and the broader public on EU research and innovation funding.
Delegation of reponsibilities to REA
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HORIZON 2020
Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
EAC
Space research
RTD
AGRI
REA
Sustainable resources for food security & growth Spreading excellence, widening participation, science with and for society
CNECT
HOME
GROW
Safeguarding secure society Fostering novel ideas: FET (Future and Emerging Technologies) Open
Spa €1.7
Inclusive, innovative & reflective societies Spreading excellence, widening participation, science with and for society
EAC
Inclusive, innovative & reflective societies
AGRI
Sustainable resources for food security & growth
FET (Future and Emerging Technologies) Open
CONNECT
REA RTD
Programme Agriculture and Rural Development Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Migration and Home Affairs
an
Safeguarding secure society
Space research
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Directorates-General: Research and Innovation Education and Culture Communications Networks Content & Technology
HOME GROW
Europe i
pro s
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© Covent Garden architects: ART & BUILD Architect / MONTOIS PARTNERS
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Horizon 2020 Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme to date with nearly EUR 80 billion of funding available over seven years (2014 to 2020). It is seen as a means to drive economic growth and create jobs. By coupling research and innovation, it is helping to achieve this aim, with an emphasis on excellent science, industrial leadership and the tackling of societal challenges. Its ambition is to help Europe produce world-class science, remove barriers to innovation and make it easier for the public and private sectors to work together. Horizon 2020 is open to everyone, with a simple structure that reduces red tape and time so that participants can focus on what is really important. This approach makes sure new projects get off the ground quickly and achieve results faster. The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation is complemented by further measures to complete and further develop the European Research Area, by breaking down barriers to create a genuine single market for knowledge, research and innovation.
The Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities (FP7) FP7 lasted for seven years from 2007 until 2013, and some FP7-funded research projects are still running. FP7 benefited from a total budget of over EUR 50 billion. This represented a substantial increase compared to the previous Framework Programme, FP6 (41 % at 2004 prices, 63 % at current prices), a reflection of the high priority in Europe given to research.
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OW
REA’s responsibilities in Horizon 2020 2014-2020 REA manages €17 billion
of Horizon 2020’s budget
Horizon 2020
Space €1.7 bn
REA Specific Objectives
Industrial Leadership
Europe in a changing world inclusive, innovative and reflective societies €1.3 bn Secure societies protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens €1.7 bn
Societal challenges
Excellent science
Science with and for society €462 m Spreading excellence and widening participation €816 m Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions €6.1 bn
FET Open €1.08 bn Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, the bioeconomy €3.8 bn
Excellent science Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA)
The MSCAs aim to equip researchers with the necessary skills and international experience for a successful career, in either the public or the private sector, by supporting research training and career development focused on research and innovation skills. The programme seeks to respond to challenges faced by researchers by offering them attractive working conditions and the opportunity to move between academic and non-academic sectors. It funds worldwide and cross-sector mobility that implements excellent research in any field of science. Professor Stefan Hell, the Chemistry Nobel prize winner in 2014, acknowledged the value of these actions during his research: ‘The MSCA postdoctoral Individual Fellowship was a critical moment in my career. I managed to get an EU Marie-Curie fellowship, and also some money from a local company in Turku in exchange for a patent licence. I could thus proceed’. GraWIToN - The existence of gravitational waves was predicted 100 years ago by Albert Einstein in his theory of General Relativity. In late 2015 the existence of these waves was confirmed. The GraWIToN project is training 14 early stage researchers who were directly involved in the data analysis and technological development that contributed to this discovery. It will allow scientists to access unique information on events happening in the universe.
AlzDiabetes - People with lifestyle-related diabetes are at an increased risk of developing dementia. This project is working on genetics and tau proteins to understand their connection in the hope of finding new treatments, notably to prevent the emergence of forms of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases.
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Excellent science Future emerging technologies - FET Open FET Open funds joint international science and technology at an early stage to foster radically new technological possibilities. FET Open is aimed at research that goes beyond what is currently known or even imagined. With no fixed research themes, the programme is open to all sciences and disciplines and encourages interdisciplinary collaborations. It also encourages proposals with new and promising ideas or new research and innovation (R&I) practices and unconventional collaborations with new high-potential actors in R&I who may become the scientific and industrial leaders of the future.
NANOSMELL - Ready to smell your favourite video game? Controlled odour emission could transform video games and television viewing. It can also benefit other areas such as pest control and medicine. The NANOSMELL project aims to switch smells on and off by tagging artificial odorants with nanoparticles exposed to an electromagnetic field.
IBSEN - By combining the power of computers and theoretical physics, researchers of the IBSEN project are studying human behaviour to build a ‘social simulator’ that reveals our economy’s weak points. Experiments are carried out on thousands of people at the same time to reveal how people make decisions in large and complex systems, such as our modern societies.
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Industrial leadership
Space research The main purpose and challenge in this field is to ensure that space will remain accessible to Europe and safe for operations in the long run. Its aim is to enable the European space research community to develop innovative space technologies and operational concepts “from idea to demonstration in space”, and to use space data for scientific, public or commercial purposes. This is a long-term challenge that requires a long-term approach. Space research contributes to enhancing EU industrial competiveness and plays a vital role in tackling societal challenges such as climate change. For example, the use of space-based Earth observation systems ensures comprehensive monitoring of our planet.
VIALACTEA - Imagine our galaxy as a huge living organism, with its own skeleton and its own evolution. The VIALACTEA project is putting together a large database on the area of the universe that hosts our galaxy, boosting our knowledge of the Milky Way and its stellar nurseries.
QB50 - Have you ever dreamt of unlocking the mysteries of unexplored parts of the Earth’s atmosphere? QB50 is an international collaborative project involving more than 50 professors and 300 students from around the world. It is helping to position Europe as a key player in the space technology sector by sending into orbit small satellites with sensors that will relay crucial information on the Earth’s thermosphere.
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Tackling societal challenges
Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, together with the bio-based industries, are integral parts of Europe’s economy and society. These sectors provide consumers and a wide range of industries with food, feed, bioenergy and bio-based products whilst relying on limited natural resources. They enhance Europe’s selfreliance and provide jobs and business opportunities, but also address significant challenges in terms of sufficient food supply and sustainability which require solutions based on research and innovation.
FRESH-DEMO - Tonnes of vegetables and fruits are harvested and distributed throughout Europe every year. However, they can be highly perishable and are especially susceptible to temperature and humidity after harvest. The FRESH-DEMO project has developed an innovative humidification/disinfection technology to increase the shelf life and hygienic properties of agricultural products.
TRADITOM - While there are over a million varieties of fruits and vegetables catalogued in European seed banks, only a handful of them ever find their way to supermarket shelves. This project aims to help local farmers to recover forgotten crops and long-lost flavours. This project uses the DNA from over 1 500 forgotten tomato breeds to create resilient, nutritious and flavour-filled varieties.
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Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and reflective societies Research funded under Societal Challenge 6 (SC6), “Europe in a changing world inclusive, innovative and reflective societies”, addresses issues such as social exclusion, explores new forms of innovation and aims to preserve European cultural heritage. Initiatives associated with the aftermath of the financial crisis and Europe’s role as a global actor are also relevant. SC6, therefore, aims to strengthen the evidence base for the Innovation Union, the European Research Area and other relevant EU policies. It also promotes coherent and effective cooperation with non-EU countries.
INCEPTION - This project achieves innovation in 3D modelling of cultural heritage through an inclusive approach for time-dynamic 3D reconstruction of artefacts, built and social environments. It aims to enrich the European identity through the understanding of how European cultural heritage continuously evolves over long periods of time. The project is funded under Horizon 2020 and supported by UNESCO and NGOs active in the preservation of Europe’s cultural heritage.
PARTISPACE - How do young people participate in decisions that concern them and their involvement at the local level? This EU-funded project is exploring how the rising generation – between 15 and 30 years of age engages in the public debate and in decisions which concern them as individuals and as members of a community. Research organisations in eight countries are involved, including Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
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Secure societies - Protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens
The Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 7 (SC7) aims at developing innovative technologies and operational concepts “from idea to demonstration” with the goal of protecting our citizens, society, the economy, infrastructure and services, as well as supporting the competitiveness of the European security industry. Bringing together all relevant stakeholders in the security domain, such as industry (including SMEs), research organisations, universities and public authorities, NGOs and private organisations. This challenge focuses on the protection of critical infrastructures from physical and cyber threats, protection against natural and man-made disasters, the fight against crime and terrorism, external and border security, cyber security and privacy and trust.
TAKEDOWN - A deeper understanding of organised crime and terrorist networks is needed to best prevent, identify and intervene against them. The project aims to investigate this complex field of research via a multidimensional modelling approach, leading to a more efficient and effective response to these threats at pan-European level in the future.
iBorderCtrl - This project aims to enable faster and secure border control for non-EU nationals crossing the EU’s borders. It aims to do so via an enhanced, voluntary form of the Registered Traveller Programme. With preregistration, parts of the check are done ahead of travel; at borders, travellers then only need reduced checks thanks to the use of a multiple-technology check by border control officers.
Spreading excellence and widening participation Despite serious efforts made at national and European levels, Europe sees significant internal disparities in terms of research and innovation performance. To tap into Europe’s still unexploited potential in research and innovation, a stronger participation in Horizon 2020, combined with greater commitment by the low-research and low-innovation-performing Member States, can be instrumental. This focus will enable the European Research Area to function in a more streamlined and homogeneous way, where the individual strengths of every Member State and Associated Country can be optimised. The Teaming action provides opportunities for new collaboration and development patterns, including the establishment of new scientific networks and Centres of Excellence, links with local clusters and opening up access to new markets. Twinning helps to strengthen a defined field of research by linking an institution with at least two leading international counterparts in Europe. ERA Chairs provide support to any type of research institution in order to attract and maintain a high quality of human resources and implement the structural changes needed to achieve excellence.
SUPREME - This Polish Twinning project aims at developing critical knowledge in modelling, planning; and integrating and managing large-scale renewable energy systems in a flexible and effective manner. The project will develop staff exchanges, joint work, summer schools and other events to create a long-lasting and effective partnership in Poland’s energy systems infrastructure.
NESTER - The NESTER project aims to upgrade the scientific and innovation performance of the Cyprus Institute (CyI) in the field of Solar-Thermal Energy (STE) via its inclusion in a network of scientific excellence with the European Industry. The enhanced capabilities of CyI would help develop the knowledge economy of Cyprus and position the island as an important player in research at the interface of the European and Middle East/North Africa regions.
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Science with and for society
The objective of this programme is to build effective cooperation between science and society, to recruit new talent for science and to pair scientific excellence with social awareness and responsibility. It will make science more attractive and increase society’s appetite for innovation, and open up further research and innovation activities. It allows all societal actors to work together throughout the whole research and innovation process.
Hypatia - The project will take 13-18 year old girls and boys both in and out of the school environment and engage them in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in a gender-inclusive way. It will also address the attitudes of STEM education professionals towards more gender-inclusive practices. Science centres and museums, schools, research institutions and industry will work together with gender experts and teenagers themselves to co-develop content and co-organise activities.
PERFORM - This project uses performing arts in fostering young peoples’ motivation and engagement with STEM in selected secondary schools in France, Spain and the United Kingdom. It aims to explore a creative, participatory educational process for experiencing science through performing arts.
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Services provided by REA
REA provides administrative and logistical support services across Horizon 2020 and beyond.
Logistical support for evaluations
Independent experts for the evaluation of project proposals
The REA manages the on-site evaluation facilities and logistics for most Horizon 2020 actions. In 2016, 6 700 experts took part in evaluations at the REA premises.
This service deals with the expert evaluator contracts and payments for the entire Horizon 2020 programme with the exception of the European Research Council Executive Agency and certain Joint Undertakings. REA prepares contracts for expert evaluators and validates the experts’ legal entities and their bank accounts. Briefings on the reimbursement rules are presented on a regular basis to experts coming to Brussels for evaluations. As of April 2015 a new service has been offered to experts, the Reimbursement Helpdesk. The service also deals with payments to experts for work provided.
This task involves the management of the evaluation premises, the allocation of the meeting rooms and support to the experts and staff during evaluation meetings, including the reception and registration of experts. This service involves the coordination of the Horizon 2020 call planning, including the scheduling of the call deadlines, the evaluation dates, and their publication on the Participant Portal.
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Research Enquiry Service
Validation services
The REA manages the Research Enquiry Service, which provides answers to requests for information from applicants, participants and the wider public on EU research and innovation funding.
The REA manages the legal and financial validation of participants and the Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) validation for the EU research programmes. Currently validation services are provided for all Horizon 2020 calls and a number of other programmes, including Erasmus+, Creative Europe, Europe for Citizens, COSME, the Health Programme and the Consumer Programme.
On average, the service has responded to around 11 500 enquiries per year since the beginning of Horizon 2020.
Since the establishment of the REA, the legal and financial status of over 50 000 entities has been validated and almost 60 000 LEAR appointments have been confirmed. Additionally, the validation services have completed over 14 500 financial viability checks. Currently the REA provides validation services for entities participating in research programmes to clients across the Commission, including 11 Directorates General, 6 Executive Agencies and 9 Joint Undertakings.
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REA in numbersREA in numbers FP7
Horizon 2020
7 000
projects
2007-2013
REA’s stren
2014-2020
€6.4 billion
€17 billion
in funding
in funding
+25 000
Support fo policy goa
82 %
6 700
Efficiency beneficiaries
experts
hosted on site in 2016
questions 11 500 answered
per year by the Research Enquiry Service
of beneficiaries were
very satisfied or satisfied
with REA’s services
Substantial con to European ex
Staff over
600
Clarity of in &
ec.europa.eu/rea
ISBN:978-92-95080-05-8
Photo Credits: © iStock © European Union, 2017 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017
