EU projects – Technology Scouting – Business Innovation

Update on UK participation to H2020

Yesterday, the government of the United Kingdom has released a technical notice, providing more details to the UK participants to H2020 on terms of the current participation and the continued support to research and innovation by UK government. By extending the underwrite guarantee, the eligibility of UK researchers and businesses to participate in Horizon 2020 will remain unchanged for the remaining duration of the programme. This is set out in the Financial Provisions of the draft Withdrawal Agreement, which has been agreed by both UK and Commission negotiators and welcomed by the other 27 EU countries at March European Council. Moreover, the government states that as a responsible government it needs to plan for every eventuality to ensure that cross-border collaboration in science and innovation can continue after EU exit.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has been chosen to manage the underwrite delivery. In the first instance, UK recipients of Horizon 2020 funding will be invited by UKRI to register their details on a dedicated portal on the GOV.uk website expected to go live in the autumn. The portal is designed to ensure that UKRI has initial information about projects and participants in order to keep researchers and businesses informed of the next steps regarding the implementation of underwrite payments, should they be required.

More information on the extension of the underwrite guarantee can be found HERE.