Synergies with European Structural Funds (ESF)

Synergies between the Framework Programme for Research and Cohesion Policy Funds have been a key topic since the preparation of Horizon 2020 based on the need to convey European funds in a strategic way strengthen the social and economic impact of R&I results.

The European Court of Auditors on November 2022 published a report: “Special report 23/2022: Synergies between Horizon 2020 and European Structural and Investment Funds - Not yet used to full potential” assessing the degree of implementation of four types of synergies and concluded that it varied by type. In particular, while measures to create upstream synergies (e.g., support for research centres) were well implemented, measures to create downstream synergies (e.g. funding the exploitation of research results) were hardly implemented.

The dialogue on synergies has received a boost thanks to the publication, in July 2022, of the COMMISSION NOTICE Synergies between Horizon Europe and ERDF programs, which indicates how to implement synergies. This important achievement will pave the way to go beyond the regulatory barriers identified as one of the main obstacles to the implementation of successful synergies.

Enabling synergies with the Cohesion Policy Funds will help enhance support fornational participation in the European Partnerships. Relevant stakeholders can take advantage of the participation in the European Partnerships by aligning their policies and resources, improving the communication between two different settings: the instrument of the European Partnership.

An open dialogue among all the stakeholders involved may be beneficial for creating a synergistic funding landscape for European Partnerships by bringing to the surface the needs of stakeholders to the Managing authorities and stimulating the creation of funding measures that enable synergies and R&D policy alignment for increasing the impact of R&D results. ERA-LEARN supports synergy creation between partnerships and other R&I actors through dedicated networking and capacity-building activities, including the annual Partnership Stakeholder Forum.