Implementing Impact in Horizon Europe proposals

Beyond accumulating new knowledge, developing new technologies or increasing European competitiveness, Horizon Europe aims to achieve tangible benefits for European citizens related to the main challenges addressed by the programme (Digital transition, Ecological transition (Green Deal), Health resilience, Economic resilience and recovery).

Horizon Europe is evolving into an impact-driven framework programme, based on a new holistic monitoring approach.

This new Horizon Europe programme will be monitored as a virtuous circle to design (Intervention logic at the level of clusters, destinations, missions), implement (at the level of strategic Plan, Work Programme Proposal template, Project reporting) and assess the programme’s impacts (through Monitoring Key Impact Pathways, Management & Implementation Data, Interim and ex-post evaluation).

For maximising impact at the level of the programme, new features have been introduced, among them, enlarged international cooperation, an in-depth open science policy, missions orientation and citizens’ involvement, to name a few.

The Horizon Europe Legislation has defined 3 types of impacts, tracked with key Impact Pathways (KIP).
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The impact logic of the programme is framed by Key Impact Pathways (KIP) detailed in the figure below and defined by Horizon Europe legislation. 

Figure 1: HORIZON EUROPE Legislation defines three types of impact, tracked with Key Impact Pathways, from "Paving the Pathways to Impact," European Commission, DG Research & Innovation (Angelica Marino, DG R&I-G2)

​A legal basis extended to the project level

This legal basis has been included and translated in the strategic plan (Policy priorities and R&I strategic orientation) and implemented in the work programmes. General objectives have been implemented in work programmes, in destinations and specific objectives within topics. Within the topics, the operational objectives are listed as expected outcomes. Finally, the practical implications will rely on the project’s pathways to Impacts to be detailed in the project proposal.
 
This integrated vision is shown below, in figure 2. 

Figure 2: Different levels of impact implementation

KPIs will be important aspects for the implementation of a project; they should be linked to the objectives of the project. But then how are they linked to KIPs?

KPIs will be linked to inputs and outputs of projects; it happens during the project. KIPs will be linked to expected outputs and impacts of projects at short and bidden terms, after the project.

There should be a correlation between KPIs and KIPs in the project proposal.

How to describe the impact of a Horizon Europe project proposal?

The main impact criteria for evaluators are

• the credibility of the pathways to achieve the expected outcomes and impacts specified in the work programme, and the likely scale and significance of the contributions due to the project.
• the suitability and quality of the measures to maximise expected outcomes and impacts, as set out in the dissemination and exploitation plan, including communication activities.

​Analysing the introduction to the work programme, the introduction to the destination, and the topic will be critical to the success of this exercise, as exemplified in the figure below. Knowledge of the links of the WP to the strategic plan will be a plus.

​In this impact-driven framework, new vocabulary has been defined and is vital to understand.

Figure 3: Important new vocabulary to understand

The impact section of the Part B of the project proposal is organised in 3 parts:

• Project’s pathways towards impact: It is expected from an applicant to show, as far as possible, how project results are linked to the outcomes and the impacts included in the work programme, at the level of the destination and the topic. It is also important to provide information about the 3 areas in which impact is expected in all proposals: scientific, societal (including environmental, economic).
• Measures to maximise impact - Dissemination, exploitation and communication
• Summary: In this new part, there is a table that should be taken into consideration from the beginning of the project engineering, in order to be fully consistent with the rest of the project proposal. It addresses 6 key aspects of the project proposal.​

Specific needs

Expected results​

D&E&C Measures

Target groups

Outcomes

Impacts

Conclusion

In the new Horizon Europe programme, much is done at a European or a more local level, so that European citizens are informed about the work financed by the European Union and understand how they can benefit from it. New tools have been put in place for tracking the global and specific impacts of the funded projects and initiatives. Beside “Excellence,” an impact-driven approach is necessary, even at the project scale, which will ensure that the results do not stay on shelves and the work funded by public money will create real impact through future concrete, innovative products or services.

Article courtesy of EAIC member, Benkei.