The European Commission has launched a tool on the Horizon 2020 Results Platform where projects can advertise their Key Exploitable Results.
The European Commission (EC) continues its efforts to strengthen dissemination and exploitation across Horizon 2020: On 25 November 2019, it announced the launch of the new Horizon Results Platform. The platform provides Horizon 2020 participants with a free online space to advertise their funded projects’ Key Exploitable Results (KER) to the audiences they want to attract. The tool is also designed for beneficiaries of the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) (2007-13).
In Horizon 2020 texts, results are defined as “any tangible or intangible output of the action (such as data, knowledge and information, whatever their form or nature, whether or not they can be protected), which are generated in the action, as well as any attached rights, including intellectual property rights.” A Key Exploitable Result is an identified main interesting result according to the definition above, which has been selected and prioritised for its high potential to be ‘exploited’ in the downstream value chain of a product, process or solution, or which has the potential to act as an important input to policy, further research, or education.
The EC recommends that Horizon 2020 and FP7 participants interested in the new Horizon Results Platform select and prioritise their results using the criteria of innovation degree, exploitability and impact. According to the web page, the new tool allows participants to present their own findings, contact owners of other results and to form “fruitful partnership that will eventually generate the desired value”. Participants can also look for investors, business development assistance or projects with a high innovation potential.
Horizon 2020 and FP7 participants intending to use the new tool to advertise their KERs can find more information in the EC’s user guide. The Results Platform will be opened for beneficiaries of the upcoming 9th European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe, which itself will have a stronger impact-orientation than its predecessor. The EC is currently looking into the possibility to enlarge the platform’s scope to additional funding programmes.
The Horizon Results Platform is embedded in other EU initiatives aimed at promoting dissemination and exploitation of research and innovation outcomes. For instance, companies funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot can connect, share experiences and find potential business partners and investors using the EIC Community Platform.