Participation from associated countries on the rise – and it’s not just the newcomers

It might be easy to see why countries associated to Horizon Europe are participating more than in previous Framework Programmes – there are more of them. Between FP7 from 2007 – 2013, and now, there are four new associate partners, with a fifth one, South Korea joining soon. (Left outside of the scope of this analysis is Switzerland, former staunch partner, but which is not associated to Horizon Europe due to the larger dispute about Swiss/EU bilateral relations, and the UK, a member of the EU until 2020, but not associated to Horizon Europe until January 2024.) The newcomers are just a part of the explanation: while recently-associated Canada is the biggest addition, the increase in participation of entities in associated countries is mainly due to the old guard increasing their involvement. Norway, Turkey, Serbia and Ukraine are the biggest contributors to the increase, with Norway increasing its participation rate by 26% (from representing 1.82% of all participants, to 2.3%), Turkey has increased participation by 35%, Serbia by 36%, and Ukraine by 52%. At the same time, Israel has seen its participation rate decline by 15%. As the biggest participant, at the halfway stage of Horizon Europe, Norway has already brought in 75% of the money it received during the whole of Horizon 2020. In percentage terms, Turkey has done even better, receiving 92% of the contribution it had in Horizon 2020. Ukraine has accessed more at the halfway point of Horizon Europe than over the entirety of the two predecessor programmes, with €54 million net, compared to €48 million between 2014 and 2021. Long term friendships Israel, Norway, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine were associated in the past three Framework Programmes, meaning they are well versed in navigating the maze of research funding. With the exception of Israel, they are all increasing funding and participation in Horizon Europe compared to the two previous programmes. In the case of Ukraine, in the face of Russia’s full scale invasion, participation was granted without the need for financial contributions for 2021 and 2022. At the same time, EU-based organisations were strongly encouraged to sign partnerships with Ukrainian entities. Israel has seen collaboration fall not only due to being closed out of certain research topics that are deemed ‘strategic’ for the EU, but also as a result of the conflict with Palestine and calls for boycotts from some in the EU research community, universities in particular. Norwayis in the lead, with €1.2 billion received already from Horizon Europe, almost double the amount it received under FP7, and 75% of its overall Horizon 2020 funding. The country’s share in terms of participation is also increased and it now represents 2.3% of all participations in Horizon Europe, up by 26% from its share in Horizon 2020. Apart from CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, an international organisation with Oslo as its legal headquarters, leading participants in Norway are the SINTEF research institute in Trondheim, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, also in Trondheim. NTNU has participated the most so far in Horizon Europe across all associated country institutes. Despite the fall off, Israel comes after Norway, but its participation to date is only 50% of Horizon 2020. However, the smaller number of organisations have accessed more than 50% of the total sum received from Horizon 2020. The main players are the Weizmann Institute of Science, Tel Aviv university and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. These three make up almost 50% of the total funding Israel has received. Turkey is third, with €256 million received in funding under Horizon Europe, equivalent to 92% of its funding in Horizon 2020. The country has seen its participation ratio increase from 0.68% to 0.92%, which is higher than some of the smaller EU member states. The most active organisations include the national research centre TUBITAK, Koc University, and the Middle East Technical University, all of which have received more than €10 million Serbia and Ukraine have made progress, with Serbian entities now representing 0.46% of all participations, and Ukraine 0.28%, an increase of around 50% compared to Horizon 2020. Under Horizon Europe, Ukrainian entities have received €6 million more than the whole of Horizon 2020, at €54 million. In Serbia, Foodscale Hub and the Biosense Institute lead in funding received, while for Ukraine, the Science and Technology Centre and the State Scientific and Technical Centre for Nuclear and Radiation Safety are the biggest recipients. Steep decrease Israel’s lower numbers are partly explained by a steep decrease in private sector entities participating in Horizon Europe. From 851 participations in Horizon 2020, there have been only 227 companies getting involved in the current programme. While previously, Israel had only 50 participations fewer than Norway from private entities, it now has half of Norway’s number. Israel is also lower than Turkey, where at the halfway point its private sector has participated 383 times, compared to 459 in all of Horizon 2020. Despite lower participation by its private sector, Israel remains a leader in the European Research Council, where its researchers have participated 300 times in Horizon Europe. Israel also has the highest number of participants of any associated country in the European Innovation Council. The total to date is 71, with Norway second with 47. Norway’s strength lies in Cluster 5 of Horizon Europe’s Pillar II, focused on Climate, Energy and Mobility, where its organisations have participated 512 times. Serbia’s focus has been on Cluster 6, Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, while Turkey’s participations are concentrated in Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions. Ukraine’s main area of participation is Cluster 5, but the country also has 43 participations in Horizon projects linked to the Euratom programme. Among other associated countries, only Norway and Turkey have participated in Euratom-related projects.Read More