General Information

Horizon Europe supports European Partnerships to deliver on global challenges and industrial modernisation through concerted R&I effort with the Member States, the private sector, foundations and other stakeholders. Partnerships, as a policy approach, provide mechanisms to link R&I to policy needs, develop close synergies with national and regional programmes, bring together a broad range of innovation actors to work towards a common goal, and turn research results into socio-economic impacts.

Horizon Europe introduces a more strategic and impact-driven approach to partnerships. It sets out common life-cycle criteria for all partnerships with the focus on the effectiveness in achieving agreed Union priorities, as well as openness, coherence and synergies with other relevant Union initiatives (including missions). Horizon Europe introduces a systemic process for selecting, implementing and monitoring for all partnerships, linking them with the Strategic Planning of Horizon Europe.

Horizon Europe distinguishes between 3 types of European Partnerships

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.

1. Co-funded partnerships with a rather centralised blending of EU and national, public and/or other R&I, funding sources (previously featured as ERA-NETs, EJP, FET Flagships in H2020). Co-funded Partnerships involve EU Member States and Associated Countries, with research funders and other public authorities at the core of the consortium. They elaborate joint research agendas and implement them with joint calls and joint additional activities.

2. Co-programmed partnerships between the EU, Member States/ Associated Countries, and/or other stakeholders, based on Memoranda of Understanding or contractual arrangements among the partners (having evolved from the cPPP model in H2020). Co-programmed partnerships elaborate joint research agendas which are realised by calls implemented through the Horizon Europe work-programmes.

3. Institutionalised partnerships (based on Art. 185 or 187 TFEU, and EIT regulation for the EIT - KICs). Institutionalised Partnerships have evolved following the Art 185 and Art 187 initiatives or the Joint Undertakings model in H2020. They should be implemented only when other parts of the Horizon Europe work-programme, including other forms of European Partnerships (Co-funded or Co-programmed), cannot achieve the objectives or generate the expected impacts. The preparation of Institutionalised Partnerships requires new EU legislation and the setting up of specific legal structures (funding bodies) based on Article 185 and 187 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU). As such the setting up of Institutionalised Partnerships must be justified with an impact assessment study prior to the preparation of the legislative proposals.
   EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) are also institutionalised partnerships. EIT KICs aim at addressing skills shortages and are already established under Horizon 2020. Key partners in EIT KICs are higher education institutions, research organisations, companies and other stakeholders.