Government has urged UK businesses benefiting from the EU’s biggest research and innovation programme to register their details so they can continue to receive funding in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Science Minister Chris Skidmore said the government have guaranteed UK organisations and businesses which receive Horizon 2020 funding will continue to do so after leaving.
“I want to ensure researchers and innovators have the confidence to push on with their great work, which is why I urge businesses to register their details on this simple online portal for Horizon 2020 grants,” said Skidmore.
“It takes just 10 minutes per grant for the data to be inputted and more than 5,500 registrations have already been received.”
The Government’s online portal was launched in September 2018 after the Government announced it would guarantee all successful UK funding bids submitted by public and private organisations before Brexit, including the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme.
To date, there have been around 5,500 registrations to the portal out of a potential 8,200. Around 4,500 are from higher education institutions and around 1,000 registrations from businesses, research organisations, public bodies and charities.
The online portal, managed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the first step towards supporting the continuity of funding for UK organisations which have been awarded grants.
It asks recipients to input basic information so UK researchers and businesses can be informed of next steps if the Government needs to underwrite Horizon 2020 funding.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has already taken the time to register their information on UKRI’s portal or submit multiple grants using our template,” said Operations Director at UKRI, Anne Dixon.
“We have had contact from most universities and in particular now, we look forward to hearing from more businesses and other organisations with UK Horizon 2020 grants.”
The Government’s guarantee will cover all successful Horizon 2020 bids by UK participants before the UK exits the EU, for the full duration of the projects.
Horizon 2020 is the EU’s biggest research and innovation programme, financially supporting researchers and businesses in EU member states to take their innovations and discoveries to market.