A

Guide to Horizon 2020 Funding for

the Creative Industries

October 2014

Introduction

This document is provided as a short guide to help you submit a proposal for the Horizon 2020
funding programme (H2020). It provides a brief overview of how to apply, things to think about,
where to get support and useful links. At the end of this document there is information about live
and forthcoming H2020 funding calls that are particularly relevant to the creative industries.

The document has been produced by the Knowledge Transfer Network, in partnership with Creative
England and the European Creative Business Network, so that creative industries businesses and
organisations can maximise the opportunities for funding. It follows directly from a briefing event
held by these organisations in London in October 14, and has benefited from the contribution of a
number of sector organisations and individuals with considerable experience and knowledge of
European funding programmes.

About Horizon 2020

H2020 is the major funding opportunity for research and innovation initiatives across Europe. Over
seven years up until 2020 some 80 billion of funding will be available to support research,
innovation and business competitiveness. It is the successor to Framework Programme (FP) 7, which
was the seventh such investment programme stretching back to 1984. In terms of its underlining
policy rationale, H2020 is implementing the Innovation Union strategy to create an innovation-
friendly environment in EU, in which new products and services are developed, leading to jobs and
growth. Innovation Union is in turn an initiative that comes under Europe 2020, the EUs ten-year
strategy for economic growth.

Compared to its FP predecessors, Horizon 2020 is a more streamlined fund that is set up to deliver
innovative responses to societal needs. It covers three broad strands:

(i) Excellent Science: basic scientific research, including career development and training of
researchers
(ii) Industrial Leadership. This is based around six sub-programmes, including advanced
materials, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and information and communication
technologies (ICT)
(iii) Better Society: these tackle solutions to societal challenges major social and economic
problems such as health, energy, environment, security etc

H2020 is mainly composed of an ongoing programme of funding calls addressing specific topics, each
of which is open for a limited period to competitively assessed proposals and has a specified sum set
against it. For the creative industries, it is expected that the major funding calls will come under the
ICT sub-programme of Industrial Leadership. Each of the individual funding calls is usually composed
of up to three different actions, again with a fixed sum set against it. The three actions are as
follows:

(i) Research Innovation Actions: These are actions with Research and Development activities as the
core of the project intending to establish new scientific and technical knowledge and/or explore the
feasibility of a new or improved technology, product, process, service or solution

(ii) Innovation Actions: Primarily consisting of activities directly aiming at producing plans and
arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services. For this
purpose they may include prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product
validation and market replication
(iii) Coordination and support actions: These are actions that cover not the research itself, but the
coordination and networking of projects, programmes and policies. This includes innovation network
activities, dissemination of knowledge, actions to stimulate the participation of SMEs

In the addition to the calls, H2020 includes The SME Instrument, an ongoing fund (worth 3bn up
until 2020) to which small and medium sized enterprises (i.e. fewer than 250 employees) that are EU
based can apply directly to get funding and support for innovation projects that will help them to
grow and expand their activities into countries, in Europe and beyond.

Trans-nationality

Trans-nationality, or the carrying out of actions across national borders, is a guiding principle of
the EU, particularly in terms of the wider benefits, lessons and best practice that are generated
through such activities. Horizon 2020 is a trans-national programme and this means that many calls
will need partners from up to three different eligible countries in a consortium. In summary:

Research & innovation actions AND Innovation actions. At least three legal entities from at
least three different Member States or associated countries.
Coordination & support actions. No requirements but applications with a transnational
element are likely to be looked on favourably.
SME instrument. No requirements.

The aim of this is to help share learning across Europe and most applications will be strengthened by
a reference to some added value from any trans-national element. For example, you may show
how cooperating with organisations from other countries can help you to develop a product or
service that can be used/implemented in many regions across the programme area. Or you may
show that partner organisations will learn from each other as part of the experience. In any case, a
good application will also be required to demonstrate how the research/development will be widely
shared across Europe.

Making an Application: the Key Stages

Stage 1 - Submit your proposal
If you wish to respond to a call, you must submit a proposal before the deadline. The Participant
Portal has clear instructions to guide you through the process. The system is an online only process
there is no need to submit a paper application. All proposals are submitted over the portal. The main
proposal will be written in a template format as an editable MS Word document. This should be
downloaded and can be filled in offline. The budget must be filled in online, on the template
provided. The partner details must also be filed in online. Note that all applications require you to
firstly register for your Participant Identification Code (PIC). This is a 9-digit code that is the unique
identifier of your organisation and will be used as a reference in all interactions with the EC.

Stage 2 - Find your partners

Calls normally require a team of at least three partners. If you need help to identify a potential
partner with particular competences, facilities or experience, use the partner search options.
Stage 3 - Evaluation by experts
Once the deadline has passed, all proposals are evaluated by a panel of independent specialists in
their fields. The panel checks each proposal against a list of criteria to see if it should receive
funding.
Stage 4 - Grant agreement
Once a proposal passes the evaluation stage (normally five months duration), applicants are
informed about the outcome. The European Commission then draws up a grant agreement with
each participant. The grant agreement confirms what research & innovation activities will be
undertaken, the project duration, budget, rates and costs, the European Commission's contribution,
all rights and obligations and more. The time limit for signing the grant agreements is generally three
months.
If you are successful, normally grants agreements stipulate that all partners are responsible for
project delivery. You should therefore leave time both before and after application assessment to
discuss terms and roles with your partners, as well as processes for re-organising work if partner
circumstances change.

How to submit your proposal

The application process will only be open once the call is live. It will be available from the specific
topic page (e.g. ICT 19 or ICT 20) as per the links below. The page will include three tabs in the
middle of the page:
(i) Topic description which will provide info on the call
(ii) Topic conditions and documents - This provides extensive detail on submission information
(iii) Submission service Once the call is live a button Start Submission will appear on this page.
Click on the button to go to the Draft proposal form. N.B. you are recommended to use Internet
Explorer there are issues using the browser Chrome which has restricted access to the essential
budget submission area.
Once you have reached this page you will need to follow the steps outlined in this document here.
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/support/sep_usermanual.pdf
It shows you the steps to
1. Register yourself
2. Register your company.
a. Each Company is given a PIC number. This is a Unique Identifier. A company will only
be awarded one PIC number this must be used for every application, whether you
are the lead or a partner. It means the same company can be recognised no matter
what role it takes, and avoids duplication of the company on the EU system.
3. Register a proposal
a. Once you have registered your proposal, it will be stored as a draft in your My
Proposals area. You can access this through your my Area section which is the
page you will be taken to once you login. Click on My Proposals. A list of your
proposals is shown click on the small ED (edit) button to the right to gain
access.

4. Add a partner
a. To add a partner, click on Add a Partner button. If you have re-logged in you will
need to click on the Step 4 Parties button at the bottom of the page.
5. Upload a proposal
6. Enter the budget

The Main Proposals
Contents of a proposal:
Each type of proposal comprises of a number of sections:
General information: Contact details, a summary of your proposed activity, declarations
Participants & contacts: Who is involved and their contact details
Budget: The project finances, be aware that projects will be evaluated heavily on value for
money and there is no opportunity to adjust your budgets at a later date.
Ethics: Yes/No questions relating to the ethics surrounding your proposed activity.
Call-specific questions: Currently being updated ahead of launch but these will relate directly
to the bid and will interrogate its suitability, excellence and innovation.

Download the templates from the Proposal section Click on the Download templates. Follow the
template format for the structure of your proposal.
When it is complete click on Upload in your Proposal section and add the corresponding completed
document.

Each area of funding has a specific proposal form relevant to its subcategory.
Applications are made through the submission service; however you can view samples of these
forms online:
For RIA and IA applications you can see a sample application form here:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/call_ptef/pt/h2020-call-pt-ria-
ia_en.pdf
for CSA applications you can see a sample application form here:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/call_ptef/pt/h2020-call-pt-ria-ia-
csa_en.pdf
for PPI applications you can see a sample application form here:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/call_ptef/pt/h2020-call-pt-pcp-
ppi_en.pdf

The Budget
The budget has to be entered online only. To access the budget section, click on the Edit Forms
button. This will take you to an online ENTRY section where you will need to add in your budget
details. H2020 funding is a reimbursement of the eligible costs incurred for the action. In general, for
Research Innovation Actions this can be up to 100% of eligible costs, while for Innovation Actions it is
70% (or 100% for not-for-profit organisations). Reimbursements tend to largely be for personnel
costs, for which timesheets are not required if the person works full time on the project.

Partner Details
In the same section you will also need to add in full information about the partners you are working
with. As well as other administration details. Make sure you look though this in advance, as it will
take more time than you think.

Other European Funding

It is worth remembering that Horizon 2020 is by no means the only source of funding for the
creative industries. For decades now, many UK organisations have been delivering projects through
the structural funds of ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) and ESF (European Social
Fund). These funds are intended to promote economic growth and opportunity in disadvantaged
localities, the former more focused around infrastructure and business support, the latter around
skills. Both of these are ongoing until 2020, with the funds allocated by the UK government through
bodies such as the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).

In addition, there is Creative Europe (based out of the ECs Education and Culture Directorate) which
similarly began in 2014 and runs over the next seven years with a total budget of 1.5bn, replacing
the ECs previous Culture and MEDIA funding programmes. Creative Europe funding is open to
creative industries and cultural organisations (rather than individual artists) across the EU, with
funding programmes that support them operate across Europe, to reach new audiences and to
develop the skills needed in the digital age.

Broad eligibility and guidelines applicable to all H2020 strands are explained in this document:
https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/doc/call/h2020/common/1617621-
part_19_general_annexes_v.2.0_en.pdf

Useful Info
Advice on how to apply can be found here:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/grants_manual/pse/h2020-guide-
pse_en.pdf

General Links:
http://www.europa.eu/horizon2020
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide
http://europa.eu/research/participation/portal

H2020 Help desk - http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=enquiries

Contact the National contact Point
The national contact point is the person in UK designated to support applications. If you have
queries it is worth talking to them:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/national_contact_points.htm
l - c,contact=country/sbg/United
Kingdom/1/1/0&function_details..function_abbr/sbg//1/1/0&+contact_name/asc

Forthcoming Calls: ICT 19 and ICT 20

ICT 19: Technologies for Creative Industries, Social Media and Convergence
Closing date for applications: 14/4/2015

Topic Challenge: The demand is growing for high-quality content and new user experiences. At the
same time, thanks to ubiquitous technology adoption, widespread use of mobile devices, broadband
internet penetration and increasing computing power the consumption of content anywhere,
anytime and on any device is becoming a reality. Consequently, developments related to content
creation, access, retrieval and interaction offer a number of opportunities and challenges, also for
the creative and media industries. In order to keep pace with the trends and remain competitive,
those industries need to explore new ways of creating and accessing content. The opportunity to
establish new forms of content and user engagement could be transformative to many businesses in
creative and media industries.

Participant Portal: ICT 19 Technologies for creative industries, social media and convergence
Which is subcategorised as
RIA Research and Innovation Action (funding rate up to 100%): Research based activity
into tools to support the Creative Industries or innovative approaches to teaching and
learning environments
IA Innovation Action: Testing of new technologies or innovative solutions
CSA - Coordination and Support Action: Facilitation of support to research on policy
exchange in Convergence and Social Media or in the dissemination of research in this area

ICT 20: Technology for Better Human Learning and Teaching
Closing date for applications: 14/4/2015
Topic Challenge: The development and integration of robust and fit-for-purpose digital technologies
for learning are crucial to boost the market for and innovation in educational technologies. This
requires an industry-led approach in close cooperation with academia to defining the frameworks
and interoperability requirements for the building blocks of a digital ecosystem for learning
(including informal learning) that develops and integrates tools and systems that apply e.g. adaptive
learning, augmented cognition technologies, affective learning, micro-learning, game-based learning
and/or virtual environments/virtual worlds to real-life learning situations. This challenge also
encourages public procurement of innovative solutions to address the needs of the digital learning
ecosystem in making better use of educational cloud solutions, mobile technology, learning analytics
and big data, and to facilitate the use, re-use and creation of learning material and new ways to
educate and learn online.

Participant Portal: ICT 20 Technology for better human learning and teaching
RIA Research and Innovation Action (funding rate up to 100%): Research into innovative
approaches to teaching and learning environments
IA Innovation Action (Funding rate: 70%, except for non-profit legal entities, where a rate
of 100% applies):
Testing and experimentation of new models for learning or the establishment of
frameworks for stakeholder engagement with new approaches in this area

PPI Public Procurement of Innovative Devices (Funding rate 20%): Support to coordinate
the development of joint specifications and procuring of innovative devices and software for
the application of technology mediated learning and teaching