Types of Partnerships

Horizon Europe distinguishes between 3 types of European Partnerships:

• Co-funded partnerships involving public authorities
• Co-programmed partnerships between the Commission and private and/or public partners
• Institutionalised partnerships, based on long-term dimension and need for higher integration under the legal framework of Article 187 or 185 TFEU and EIT-Regulation supported by Horizon Europe. They can involve several Member States, bodies established through a Decision of the Council or EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities.

The 3 types of European Partnerships are different from each other with respect to their implementation and certain other features. The Co-programmed are the most simple to prepare and implement, and the Institutionalised, the most complex.

The European Partnerships in Horizon Europe are an evolution from certain partnership types in Horizon 2020:

• The Co-funded partnerships are successors of the European Joint Programme (EJP) Cofund and ERA-NET Cofund actions under Horizon 2020.
• The Co-programmed partnerships follow the Contractual Public-Private-Partnerships (cPPP) under Horizon 2020.
• Institutionalised European Partnerships are based on Art. 187 and Art. 185 of the TFEU but are no longer called Art. 185/187 initiatives or Joint Undertakings. EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (EIT-KICs) are also part of Institutionalised partnerships in Horizon Europe.

The graph below shows the transition of partnerships from Horizon 2020 to Horizon Europe. It is important to note, that existing initiatives/actions do not stop or change to the new format with the start of Horizon Europe.