The participation of the Czech Republic in the Horizon Europe missions as of March 30, 2023

Missions are a new concept in the Framework Programme. In short, they are ambitious research and innovation activities, that have an impact across disciplines and sectors and are important to a significant part of the European population. They are announced in the form of specific calls in pillar II of the Horizon Europe programme (hereinafter referred to as "HE"). Missions are currently in place for the following areas:

• Adaptation to Climate Change,
• Cancer,
• Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030,
• 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities,
• A Soil Deal for Europe.

The theme of missions also resonated significantly with the position papers, that responded to the European Commission's public consultation on December 1, 2022, focused on the past, present and future of the EU framework programmes for research and innovation in the period 2014–2027. The introduction of the missions was perceived critically across the position documents, mainly due to the unclear link to the pillar II, the setting of the budget of the missions, the disconnection with national and regional development and innovation strategies and the complex structure of the setting of the missions (including their non-transparency and difficulty in orientation).

The aim of the contribution is therefore to follow up on the positions in these position documents and to briefly analyse the participation of the Czech Republic in the missions in the European context.

Note: Participation in the Horizon Europe missions by country as of March 30, 2023
Legend: The number of participations of beneficiaries from the particular country; Role of beneficiary (dark blue – coordinators; light blue – other participants)
Source: European Commission – eCORDA – data on March 30, 2023. Prepared by Vladimír Vojtěch, TC Prague, April 21, 2023

As of March 30, 2023, Czech recipients reported 41 participations in the HE programme missions. The Cancer and Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities missions reported the most participations (11 both). 8 participations were reported by the Soil Deal for Europe mission, 6 participations by the Restore our Oceans and Waters mission, and 5 participations by the Adapting to Climate Change mission. The participation of Czech beneficiaries in the missions corresponds to the total Czech participation in the HE programme. Out of the total number of 2,553 beneficiary participations in HE programme missions, 41 Czech participations represent 1.6%. In the case of the entire 558 Czech participations in the HE programme, the participation of Czech beneficiaries means 1.4%.

At first glance, the representation of other countries does not differ. There is a clear dominance of the countries of Western Europe - Spain (324 participations of beneficiaries in missions, 4,641 participations of beneficiaries in HE programme as a whole), Italy (248 participations in missions, 4,081 total participation), Germany (224 participations in missions, 4,738 total participation ) and France (208 participations in missions, 3,516 total participation). On the other hand, Romania showed a higher participation in missions (77 participations of beneficiaries in missions out of 474 participations of beneficiaries in the HE programme in total) than the Czech Republic. Polish beneficiaries reported 42 participations, Hungarian 37, Croatian 36, Bulgarian 35, and Slovene 33.

In terms of roles, it is necessary to add, that Czech entities participated in the missions as other beneficiaries only. On the contrary, Romania coordinated 3 projects. Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Lithuania, and Bulgaria coordinated 1 project each.

Note: Distribution of the EU financial contribution to participants in the Horizon Europe missions by country as of March 30, 2023
Legend: The EU contribution (in millions of EUR) to beneficiaries from the particular country; Missions (orange – Cancer; blue – Restore our Oceans and Waters by 2030; green – A Soil Deal for Europe; yellow – Adaptation to Climate Change; grey – 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities)
Source: European Commission – eCORDA – data on March 30, 2023. Prepared by Vladimír Vojtěch, TC Prague, April 21, 2023

In terms of the EU contribution, Czech beneficiaries in missions received €11.7 million as of 30 March 2023, the 17th highest EU contribution among HE member countries and associated countries. The total EU contribution to all beneficiaries participating in the missions was €1.1 billion. In comparison, Czech beneficiaries received the 18th highest contribution for the entire HE programme. The highest EU contribution was received by the Czech beneficiaries in the Cancer mission, namely €3.4 million. The missions Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, Soil Deal for Europe, and Restore our Oceans and Waters received a similar contribution of €2–2.5 million. In the mission Adapting to Climate Change, Czech beneficiaries received an EU contribution of €1.7 million. A similar structure of participation in missions as the Czech Republic – i.e., without a significant predominance of a particular mission – Italy, France, Spain, Germany, or Denmark also have it. On the contrary, one dominant mission can be identified for the other new EU member states – e.g., Soil Deal for Europe in the case of Poland; Restore our Oceans and Waters for Estonia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Romania.

Note: The importance of missions in particular countries participating in the Horizon Europe programme
Legend: Missions' share of the EU contribution for beneficiaries from the particular country (in %). Crosshatch – countries with less than 10 beneficiary participation in missions
Source: European Commission – eCORDA – data on March 30, 2023. Prepared by Vladimír Vojtěch, TC Prague, April 24, 2023

In the previous paragraphs, we stated that Romanian beneficiaries had a greater participation in missions than beneficiaries from the Czech Republic and that beneficiaries from Hungary, Croatia and Bulgaria also showed similar participation. However, in these countries, participation in missions represents a significant part of the EU contribution – most in Croatia (17.5%) and Romania (16.4%). On the contrary, the Czech Republic, where missions contribute 5% of the total EU contribution, is on par with European average (5.3%). This means that the Czech Republic shows similar values as Slovenia, Italy, Finland, or Norway.

Résumé: Czech beneficiaries reported 41 participations (but not a single coordination) in Horizon Europe missions. The participation of the Czech Republic in the missions does not differ from the overall country’s participation in the HE programme. In the case of the Czech Republic (unlike the new EU member states), the missions are equally represented. As part of their participation in the missions, domestic beneficiaries received an EU contribution of €11.7 million. This is 5% of the total contribution of the EU to the Czech Republic in the HE programme and it corresponds to the European average.

Author: Vladimír Vojtěch, TC Prague, vojtech@tc.cz, 25.04.2023