How is the Horizon programme contributing to add value to our society? What is its impact on people, even those who don’t seem to be affected by the reaserach and innovation sphere? How can the project implemented in the framework of this programme contribuite to the development of the civil society?
The call for theHorizon impact award wants to give an answer to all these questions. The European Commission aims at recognizing and celebrating with this “outstanding projects that have used their results to provide value for society”, as one can read on its official website. The mission of the award is to demonstrate the importance of the benefits and investment provided by the EC to the innovation field. Although the results may not be immediate, in fact, and the real changes can often be apreciated only in the long-term, this doesn’t neglets the importance of such measures to foster innovation and research.
Through the sharing of good practices, results and achievements, it will be possible for other workers in the field to exploit better their projects as well, enabling them to have a better vision and a better focus on what their work is for. “They can do this by directly exploiting results or by playing an active role ensuring stakeholders effectively use the results “.
Participation criteria
The projects must have been funded by FP7 and Horizon 2020 funding programmes and they must be closed by the time of application.
The contest is open to all legal entities, individuals or teams, that have completed a FP7 or Horizon 2020 project.
Project’s requirements
The applications must address the following cumulative criteria:
- From results to societal benefits – proven link between funded project results to their uptake and creation of societal benefits.
The results should also benefit or address a well-defined target audience. - Impact – potential longer-term impact for society, the economy and/or policymaking
The applicants will be required to submit a letter of support from at least one user or user community, stating the importance of the research and how using it created concrete benefits for the specific user-community.
Evaluation
Two different panels of experts will evaluate applications
- internal European Commission experts for the eligibility check and pre-selection
- external high-level experts for final selection
The winners will be invited to an award ceremony, which will include a selected audience of high-level representatives and promoters of innovation in industry and the public sector. The Horizon Impact Award will provide the winners with high visibility in the form of public interest and increased media coverage. There will be five prizes on offer, each 10.000 EUR worthy.
Deadline
For more information about the contest, visit the official page, read the rules and apply. The deadline is on 28th May 2019.
