HORIZON 2020 IN WALES

Regional comparisonRegional comparisons are difficultto make due to limited data beingavailable, particularly at this stage of theprogramme, and the structural differencesbetween regional research and innovationecosystems. For some indicators, forexample Horizon 2020 funding perperson, Wales appears to be: performingbetter than several EU regions (e.g. Galiciain Spain); similar to others (e.g. NorthernIreland); and behind some (e.g. the BasqueCountry).Emerging trendsWhile it is somewhat early in theprogramme period to confirm statisticaltrends, there are some points worthhighlighting:»» The Horizon 2020 Scoping Studyproposed a target of increasingthe Welsh share of the UK’s totalfunding figure by 0.70% (to 2.8%)by the end of the programme. It isencouraging that there has been anincrease of 0.39% (to 2.46%) andalthough there may be fluctuationsin future years it is perhaps anindicator of an upward trend.»» Several indicators demonstrate thatWales has managed to maintainits FP7 performance in many areas,despite the greater competitivenessof Horizon 2020.»» The greater focus on impact andinnovation in Horizon 2020 may beproving to be a challenge for the HEsector, given current success ratesand funding percentage shares.»» Despite some success among theprivate sector, the share of fundingshows that there is potential forgreater success.»» It would appear that to build on thisearly momentum we will need toincrease the number and frequencyof applications from Welshorganisations and ensure that thesuccess rate of those applicationsincreases where possible.The remaining sections of this reportset out how we are already addressingthese issues and building on the successachieved so far.9

Build a ‘stairway to excellence’The increased emphasis on synergies between EU funding streams and thegreater opportunites for innovation available through Horizon 2020 havegiven Wales the opportunity to make significant changes in its researchand innovation capacity. Figure 2 shows how the European Structural &Investment Funds (ESIF) and other investments are being aligned along a‘stairway to excellence’, so whether you are a Welsh business exploring apotential innovation for the first time or an excellent research group lookingto build an international collaboration there is support available. It alsoillustrates our ambition to support more organisations ‘up the stairway’;some organisations/individuals may not be ready to access Horizon 2020at a particular stage in their development but the activity supported by the‘stairway’ (and the other key objectives) will encourage them to consider itin the medium term and support them when they are ready.10

Figure 2 – The Welsh ‘stairway to eanStructural&InvestmentFunds(ESIF)no ibmOuraCollabora na onalcollabora i5meandFisheriesFundProgress to dateLocating the Horizon 2020 Unit in theWelsh European Funding Office (WEFO)has helped to ensure that Horizon 2020 isconsidered at all relevant ESIF discussions.This is reflected in the progress to datewith support now available for all ‘steps’on the ‘stairway to excellence’.European Regional Development Fund(ERDF) investments in centres of excellenceinclude 20m for the 35m AberystwythInnovation and Enterprise Campus; 4.5mfor the 44m Cardiff University BrainResearch Imaging Centre; and 7.5m forTWI Ltd’s 12.9m Advanced EngineeringMaterials Research Institute.This new research capacity is expected tobring in around 60m research incomefrom competitive sources such as Horizon2020.A significant success for Wales hasbeen securing 7m ( 9m) from Horizon2020’s COFUND for researcher mobilitywhich was the largest award in 2015.This alongside 23m ERDF will support astep change in the number of excellentresearchers in Wales under the WelshGovernment’s Sêr Cymru banner. It is anexcellent example of synergies betweenEU funding streams and is attractingsignificant attention from the EUInstitutions and other European countries.Furthermore, by investing 69m ERDFin the Welsh Government’s 135mSMART schemes (SMART Innovation,SMART Cymru and SMART Expertise) wehave supported an integrated suite ofinterventions that will drive the innovativebehaviour needed in Wales and hencenurture the confidence needed to accessfunding such as Horizon 2020. This isexplored further in the next section of thereport.There have also been complementaryinvestments from the European SocialFund (ESF); for example the 1.5mMaterials and Manufacturing EducationTraining and Learning (METaL 2) scheme,led by Swansea University, which willhelp more than 360 employees achievequalifications in the field of advancedmaterials and manufacturing.11

Forward lookFurther Structural Funds investments areexpected in 2016, including centres ofexcellence in the Grand Challenge areasof Low carbon, energy & environment,Advanced engineering & materials and ICT& digital economy.There is also good potential for synergieswith the innovation activity supportedthrough the European Agricultural Fundfor Rural Development (EAFRD) andEuropean Maritime and Fisheries Fund(EMFF) with some interesting proposalsemerging in the food and marineresources areas.The Welsh Governmentis engaged in the European InnovationPartnership (EIP) for AgriculturalProductivity and Sustainability whichshould also help increase Wales’ influenceover the nature of relevant calls underHorizon 2020.The European Territorial Co-operation(ETC) Programmes, including the IrelandWales Co-operation Programme, alsoalign to the ‘stairway to excellence’;for example, through their supportof collaborative activity betweenorganisations in different Member States.Discussions are well underway about thepotential around marine energy given thestrong links with the aims of the ERDFprogrammes and Horizon 2020.All of these investments will either directlyor indirectly contribute to an increase inthe number and quality of Horizon 2020bids from Welsh organisations. Naturallyit will take time for new activities tobed down and deliver but alongside theactivity supported under the other keyobjectives we expect these investments tolead to a sustainable step change in Welshperformance in accessing Horizon 2020 inthe medium to long term.Helping Wales SCoRE in Horizon 2020As part of the ‘stairway to excellence’,SCoRE Cymru (Supporting CollaborativeResearch and innovation in Europe)provides grants to stimulate participationby Welsh organisations in Europeancollaborative research and innovationprogrammes, particularly Horizon2020. Funding can cover travel andaccommodation costs involved inidentifying and building consortia (up to 1,000) and the cost of subcontractedexpertise for developing funding proposals(up to 10,000).12Since the scheme’s inception in May2013 over 130 applications havebeen approved resulting in a fundingcommitment of over 210,000 to morethan 50 organisations. Over 75% of thisfunding has been awarded to SMEs. Thishas already contributed to the award of 693,000 Horizon 2020 funding to Welshorganisations.

Increase the engagement and successof businessesThe Horizon 2020 Scoping Study identified the need for additional supportfor Welsh businesses to access the opportunities in Horizon 2020. Thisrecognised their relatively low engagement in FP7, the emerging evidencethat Horizon 2020 would support more innovation and closer to marketactivity, and that many businesses, especially SMEs, have limited resources todedicate to seeking funding that is so competitive.It was clear that any Horizon 2020 support should be integrated into thewider innovation offer, ensuring that businesses receive the right support fortheir stage of development (the ‘stairway to excellence’ principle). It wasalso understood that ESIF funding would be key to supporting this additonalactivity. Finally, it was recognised that this support must add value to theexisting and emerging support available in Wales, the UK and Europe; theUK support structure in particular was evolving significantly from itsFP7 model.13

Progress to dateThe Welsh Government’s ERDF fundedSMART schemes (SMART Innovation,SMART Cymru and SMART Expertise)provide an integrated suite ofinterventions that will drive the innovativebehaviour needed in Wales and hencenurture the confidence needed to accessfunding such as Horizon 2020. Thisincludes one-to-one support throughInnovation Specialists and, where required,procured support for Welsh businessesconsidering Horizon 2020. There is alsosupport for industrially-led collaborationswith Welsh Higher Education and FurtherEducation institutions, which will create apipeline of activity that is expected to leadto bids for Horizon 2020 funding.from the UK’s National Contact Points,Knowledge Transfer Networks andEnterprise Europe Network. For example,WEFO’s Horizon 2020 Unit facilitatesa regular meeting with the WelshGovernment’s Innovation team andEnterprise Europe Network Wales to shareknowledge of innovative Welsh businessesand identify the best route for theirsupport.The Horizon 2020 Unit also engagesregularly with other relevant support tobusinesses such as the Life Sciences Huband Innovation Point – this is exploredfurther under the key objective, ‘Maximisethe impact of existing and emergingsupport’.We are also ensuring that this activitycomplements the support availableForward lookWith the additonal support now in place,and the activity under the other keyobjectives, there should be a significantincrease in the engagement of businessesin Horizon 2020 during 2016. This maytake time to show in the number of bidssubmitted and the success of those bids,but this will be closely monitored andfurther support considered if appropriate.Business successfully climbs stairway14Over the last 10 years the WelshGovernment’s Innovation team hasprovided technical advice and financialsupport to Charles Owen & Co(Bow) Ltd,based in Wrexham, to help facilitate newproduct development and investmentin new technologies to deliver improvedmanufacturing processes.On the basis of this previous activity andthe investment in state-of-the-art testingequipment, Charles Owen & Co(Bow)Ltd has now been awarded 273,287for its part in the collaborative Horizon2020 project HEADS (Head projection: aEuropean network for Advanced Designsin Safety).In 2014, the Welsh Governmentcontributed 25K towards the purchase ofstate-of-the-art testing equipment whichis being utilised in a number of researchcapacity building and new productdevelopment projects.The scientific goal of HEADS is to improvethe understanding of head impact injuryand to design new helmet standardtest methods. This will lead to improvedhelmets (e.g. for skiing, equestrian, motorcycling) and a reduction in the severity

of injuries and the numbers of fatalities.This objective will be achieved through acombination of computational simulationsof real-life accidents, experimental andcomputational investigation of injurythresholds, and design of new helmetcertification tests.impact biomechanics and helmet designtechnologies, as well as being aware ofcommercial market opportunities.The full project is worth 3,387,265 andincludes six partners – three industryand three academic – across five EUcountries. This should lead to a number ofcommercial leads for the Welsh company.Another major objective of the projectis to train a group of highly specialiseddoctoral graduates who understand head15

Develop a Horizon 2020 cultureand community in WalesIn simple terms this key objective is about targeted events, training andcommunication activity but its aim is much wider than this and cuts acrossthe other key objectives. To deliver a step change in Welsh performancein Horizon 2020 there is a need to encourage and support a culturechange. Welsh organisations need to understand the long-term strategicbenefits of engaging with such funds despite the challenges they mayface. Collaboration is at the heart of Horizon 2020 and, although Welshorganisations may find themselves competing for the same funding attimes, it is clear that developing a community approach to pooling limitedresources (e.g. for funding events and training), sharing knowledge and bestpractice, and working towards shared objectives will increase the success ofall Welsh organisations. Furthermore, it is also important to recognise thatthis community will extend, where appropriate, beyond Wales to include UKstakeholders and the Brussels community.There is also a balance to be struck between raising awareness widely inorder to encourage new participants in Horizon 2020 (albeit with clearmessages about the challenge involved in accessing this competitivefunding) and targetting activity at existing clusters of activity.The performance of Welsh organisations so far suggests that we need todo both.16

Progress to dateFollowing the formal launch of Horizon2020 in Wales in December 2013, theWelsh Government’s Horizon 2020Unit hosted Wales’ first Horizon 2020Annual Event in February 2015 involvingstakeholders from across Wales, the UKand Europe. With the theme of, “Buildinga stairway to excellence in Wales –maximising the impact of EU funding forresearch and innovation”, the event notonly set the scene in terms of the strategicapproach to research and innovationin Wales, but also the practical supportavailable for Welsh organisations to accessHorizon 2020.linked events in Wales and Brusselswherever appropriate, for example theWelsh and Brussels launches of SêrCymru II.The Horizon 2020 Unit also worked closelywith stakeholders in Wales and the UKto develop and co-ordinate a series oftargeted events and workshops, includingworkshops at flagship events such asDigital 2015 and Venturefest 2015.Specialist topics for such events includedopportunities for the creative sector, ICT,the space industry and around Industry4.0. The Unit also looked to encourageKey information on Horizon 2020 calls orevents has also been identified and passedon through informal networks and/orWEFO’s web pages.Where a need has been identified theHorizon 2020 Unit has also workedwith stakeholders to develop specifictraining events. For example, the Unitsupported an innovative ‘summer school’for potential bids for Marie SkłodowskaCurie Individual Fellowships, led by BangorUniversity in partnership with AberystwythUniversity; this resulted in seven proposalsbeing submitted to Horizon 2020.Horizon 2020 success stories which havebeen publicised have included MicrosemiCorporation (awarded around 320,000)and Swansea University’s MARIBE project(awarded around 170,000).Forward lookThe second Horizon 2020 Annual Eventwill take place on 17 March 2016 inCardiff. The event will highlight someof Wales’ early successes in Horizon2020, whilst also providing a uniqueopportunity to explore the strategies forsuccess with an expert panel. There willalso be detailed workshops on AdvancedMaterials and Manufacturing (jointlyorganised with Welsh Higher EducationBrussels), the Eurostars Programme (jointlyorganised with the Enterprise EuropeNetwork Wales), and Cybersecurity (jointlyorganised with Innovation Point and theCybersecurity Cluster in Wales).In terms of training, there will be anincreased focus on ‘masterclass’ trainingto improve the success rates of bids fromWelsh organisations.More Welsh success stories are nowemerging from the programme and theHorizon 2020 Unit is working with thebeneficiaries to develop case studies; thesewill be made widely available. There willalso continue to be a focus on promotingthe expertise of Wales in Brussels andbeyond through events and othercommunication channels.The Horizon 2020 Unit is also looking toproduce a short ‘opt-in’ e-bulletin that willhighlight key information for the Horizon2020 community in Wales.17

Healthy linksThe Horizon 2020 Unit has worked closelywith the Department for Health and SocialServices during 2015 on their ambitionsfor attracting more EU funding includingHorizon 2020. One outcome of thiscross-department working has been theagreement of a protocol for joint fundingof engagement activity in Europe. HealthBoards and other stakeholders in thehealth sector need to engage with otherregions to build consortiums for futurebids for EU funds such as Horizon 2020.Given the nature of the health sectorthis engagement can have a long lead in18time and may not always involve a WelshUniversity or business; it can thereforestruggle to justify support from SCoRECymru with its expectation of a clear linkto a potential bid for EU research andinnovation funding. The protocol helpsto identify the type of engagement thatSCoRE Cymru can support and any parallelor preceding activity that could attractsupport directly from the Departmentfor Health and Social Services. This jointfunding approach is helping to supporta new culture of innovation in the healthsector in Wales.

Maximise the impact of existingand emerging supportThis key objective recognises that there is a significant amount of skills,experience and expertise already available at the Welsh, UK and EU levelsand it is a key aim of the Horizon 2020 Unit to engage and focus theseresources for the benefit of Welsh organisations (Figure 4 in the Annexillustrates this principle). This is an efficient way of providing much of thesupport needed by Welsh organisations, will avoid duplication and will helpcreate a vibrant Horizon 2020 community in Wales.It is also recognised that the support structure will continue to change; theUK support system has evolved significantly since FP7 and the investmentsmade with ESIF as part of the ‘stairway to excellence’ will lead to moresources of support coming on stream in the next few years. It is importantthat emerging sources of support complement existing activities and helpdeliver a consistent service to Welsh organisations.The important role of Wales House in Brussels is recognised here as well.19

Progress to dateThe Welsh Government’s Horizon 2020Unit has engaged closely with stakeholdersthroughout 2015 including WelshGovernment Departments, the highereducation sector, Innovate UK and theEnterprise Europe Network to co-ordinateand target support for Welsh organisationsand share knowledge and best practice.This has included being an active memberof the UK Government’s Horizon 2020network.There has also been a positive trendof thematic/sectoral groups becomingincreasingly interested and active inHorizon 2020. This includes the lifesciences and health sector throughthe work of the Life Sciences Hub andDepartment for Health and Social Services,the Welsh Higher Education Brusselsthematic groups, the food sector, thespace sector and the ICT sector includingthe emerging role of Innovation Point.The Horizon 2020 Unit has looked towork closely with these nodes of activityas they can deliver specialist support andadvice for their target group which shoulddirectly address the

EU Funds: Investing in Wales HORIZON 2020 IN WALES Annual Report 2015. 2. 3 . and benefit from Horizon 2020. This, in turn, will help create a . ERANETS or some EIT initiatives. 7 The Excellent Science pillar of Horizon 2020 has brought in the most funding by far to Wales, with over 10 million from