Certainly, one or the other person has already noticed via various of our social media channels: We have received the Seal of Excellence in connection with the German EU framework program Horizon 2020. But what does that actually mean? When does a company receive this seal of approval and what happens now? We would like to explain that in this article.
What is the Seal of Excellence?
The Seal of Excellence is a seal of quality that is awarded for project proposals. The entire concept ran up to our seal of approval under the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework program for research and innovation. In the meantime, however, there is a successor for this: Horizon Europe is the successor program and thus the 9th EU framework program of this kind.
The Seal of Excellence is awarded to companies for which funding could not be approved due to funding shortages, but which show promise. The aim of the European Commission is to point out these projects with the seal of approval in order to receive other funding if necessary.
These can then be public or private as well as regional, national, European or international benefits. Some states already have extra funding programs aimed at supporting those projects that have received a Seal of Excellence. Examples of this are the northern Italian region of Lombardy or the Swedish innovation agency VINNOVA. In addition, the seal serves as a kind of “recall” for the next evaluation process. The company gets another chance to be there.
Which projects are supported or awarded?
In terms of the innovation chain, there are no limits in the Horizon 2020 framework program. This is because funding opportunities have been created for everything from initial ideas as basic research to new services, processes or products. However, the focus on “innovation” is important, so the project should be able to continue to be used after the funding.
Overall, there are three different priorities in the Horizon 2020 program:
- Social challenges
- Leading role of the industry
- Science Excellence
The first point includes, for example, solutions to issues such as global warming or demographic change. With the second focus, research and development from the industrial sectors in particular are included. Research results from this branch can also contribute to societal solutions. Last but not least, the scientific excellence part consists of networking researchers and enabling research stays in other countries. In general, the program is also intended to provide greater support for regions with weaker innovation and to give research and innovation a higher priority in society.
More info on the topic can be found here.