The European Commission has published the Horizon 2020 Evaluation report, highlighting that investment in EU research and innovation greatly pays off.

The final evaluation was drawn on a wide evidence base with over 1,000 interviews with project beneficiaries, national authorities and implementing bodies, as well as surveys of both successful and unsuccessful participants, combines extensive quantitative and qualitative analyses and builds on a large open public consultation with close to 2000 replies.

Horizon 2020 was the European Union's eighth research and innovation funding programme, operating from 2014 to 2020 with a budget of nearly €80 billion. The objectives of Horizon 2020 were to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, foster collaboration in research and innovation, support excellent science and industrial leadership, and tackle societal challenges in Europe.

The publication of the evaluation feeds into the discussion around the next European Framework Programme for R&I post-2027 (FP10). ERRIN launched its targeted reflections on the topic in autumn 2023 and will continue actively engaging in the process.

Read the Horizon 2020 Evaluation report here.