The results of interim evaluations of public-private and public-public partnerships supported by Horizon 2020, published on 9 October seem to confirm that research partnerships between the EU, the private sector and the Member States are on track to deliver on their objectives, to improve people's lives and to increase Europe's international competitiveness.
Thee valuation of the seven public-private partnership scalled Joint Undertakings
(JUs) under Horizon 2020 and their six predecessors under the previous
(seventh) framework programme seem to confirm that the partnerships contribute
directly to EU competitiveness and policy goals. The key strength of the JUs is
their ability to engage major industry partners across borders and to overcome
fragmentation in their sectors.
A separate evaluation of public-public partnershipssupported by the EU via Horizon 2020 highlights that these large joint research and innovation programmes of several EU Member States, countries associated to Horizon 2020 and, in some cases, also third countries seem to contribute to more effective and efficient coordination and cooperation in and outside Europe.
These initiatives support Europe in responding to its international commitments and also help strengthen its competitiveness. The evaluation also identifies some challenges for these partnerships, and the Commission will use it to develop proposals on partnerships in the next Framework Programme.
Background
The seven public-private partnerships represent a total investment in research and innovation of €19.5 billion over seven years, where the EU contribution of €7.3 billion is expected to unlock a €12.2 billion investment from the private sector and the Member States. These partnerships work in a number of key fields:
In addition, over € 5.5 billion has been jointly invested by the EU, the Member States, countries associated to Horizon 2020 and some third countries in five public-public partnerships over the last ten years, with a sixth expected to start working in 2018:
