25 January 2016
There was a phenomenal increase in African participation over the life of FP7 (2007 - 2013) with research funding of €171.5 million going into African research institutions in 45 African Member States (Algeria; Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Rep.; Congo; Congo (DRC); Cote d'Ivoire; Egypt; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Seychelles; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania; Togo; Tunisia; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe).
Horizon 2020 is fully open to International Cooperation and African countries (ICPC List) can participate in proposals in cooperation with European peers and be reimbursed on the same basis of actual costs.
While it is positive that there are some specific calls focused on cooperation between Europe and Africa under Societal Challenges and ICT, it is not necessary to be restricted to these calls. It is recommended that African and European research institutions actively explore opportunities under relevant Work programmes (LEIT, Societal Challenges, Marie Curie and Research Infrastructures) to co-design Research and Innovation actions and other research related collaboration that are mutually beneficial.
As at December 2015, forty-eight projects have been funded with over 100 participations from 26 African Member States and c.€17 million research and innovation funding for African institutions. These projects are a mix of Research and Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions and Coordination and Support Actions. Twenty-four Research and Innovation Actions with African partners have been funded across the following thematic areas: Environment (5), Food (3), Health (7), ICT (5 including two projects focused on how ICT can support healthcare delivery), Infrastructure (2) and Transport (2). Four Innovation Actions with African partners have commenced focused on Energy, Environment, Space and Water. Nineteen coordination and support actions with African Partners have been funded focused on Disaster Resilience (1), eInfrastructures (4), Environment (3), Food Security (1), Space (3), Science and Society (6) and Security (1). This demonstrates a good participation across all three pillars of Horizon 2020, with almost 10% of all funding secured by African institutions under all of FP7 in the first year of Horizon 2020.
IST-Africa has prepared a number of resources to assist newcomers to Horizon 2020.
The Introduction to Horizon 2020 is designed to support newcomers to Horizon 2020 to better understand the structure, rules and expectations. Chapter 1 provides a short introduction to Horizon 2020, the role of International Cooperation including insights into African participation under FP7 and Horizon 2020 to date and summarises the key differences between FP7 and Horizon 2020. Chapter 2 provides more details in relation to Research Areas, Participation Rules, Funding Instruments and African participation under initial calls of Horizon 2020. Chapter 3 provides insights into a number of preparatory steps that need to be considered prior to preparing a proposal for submission under Horizon 2020. These include identification of relevant research areas and calls, identification of complementary partners and correct funding instrument.
The IST-Africa Guide to 2016 Calls for Proposals in Horizon 2020 provides an overview of Calls, themes and deadlines within the Marie Curie, eInfrastructures, Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEIT - Components and Systems, Advanced Computing, Future Internet, Content Technologies and Information Management, Robotics and Key enabling Technologies (Micro-nano-electronics and photonics)) and each of the Societal Challenges (Health, Food Security and Agriculture, Energy, Transport, Environment, Inclusive and Reflective Societies, Secure Societies) Work Programmes.
Please visit the Horizon 2020 section on IST-Africa for more details of upcoming calls