EU funding update

Guaranteed funding for all successful competitive UK bids to Horizon 2020 that are submitted before we leave the EU

The Government has committed to guarantee funding for all successful competitive UK bids to Horizon 2020 that are submitted before we leave the EU, if there’s a no-deal Brexit.

The guarantee also covers all successful competitive UK bids to Horizon 2020 calls open to third-country participation submitted between Brexit and the end of 2020. Both the guarantee and extension commit funding to UK Horizon 2020 participants for the lifetime of projects.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will also manage the independent assessment of UK applications to European Research Council (ERC), Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and SMEi grants that have been submitted before Brexit, if they are not assessed by the European Commission. Successful applications will be funded for the lifetime of the project.

UK recipients who have already submitted successful bids

Current UK recipients of Horizon 2020 funding need to provide initial information about their projects on the UKRI portal – this is being dealt with centrally by the University’s Research Services Team. Organisations in EU countries who are part of a consortium with UK participants do not need to register on the UKRI portal.

If the guarantee is required, UKRI will contact UK beneficiaries directly through the portal with information on the next steps they need to take to access funding. Find out more about the delivery of the guarantee.

UK applicants to ERC, MSCA and SMEi grants

• European Research Council (ERC)
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
• Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Instrument (SMEi) programmes

If you have submitted a bid to one of these calls you should wait for the Commission’s response. If there’s a no-deal Brexit and your proposal is evaluated as successful by the Commission, your project will be covered by the government’s funding guarantee. As soon as you receive notification of success from the Commission you should contact your Research Support Team directly.

If the Commission notifies you that it will not continue to assess your bid after Brexit you will be able to re-submit your proposal to UKRI for independent assessment. UKRI will only accept proposals that have been submitted to Horizon 2020 before Brexit. Evidence of this prior submission will be required.

If, at the end of this independent process, your proposal is successful, your project will be funded for its duration. The grant will be administered by UKRI and will be awarded under UKRI terms and conditions.

If you have any questions about this please contact Liz Fay, EU Funding and Development Manager.

Universities UK and the European University Association publish briefing on Brexit no-deal preparation

Universities UK (UUK) and the European University Association (EUA) have published a briefing on Brexit no-deal preparation (February 2019).

The document covers four broad areas:

• People
• Cooperation
• Data
• Trade

It provides advice around EU programmes like Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+, but also other issues relevant for universities such as student fees.

In the case of no-deal, the UK will become a third country and the UK government Underwrite Guarantee will come into effect. Through the guarantee the UK Government has committed to protect current ongoing projects in Horizon 2020 and also to pay for successful UK grant applications for funding streams open to third country participation (i.e. multi-beneficiary grants) which are submitted after the UK leaves the EU in March 2019. The UK government would financially guarantee the funding UK participants would have otherwise received from the EU. There are , however, a number of uncertainties which would need to be resolved in the case of a no-deal, for example, UK partners would not count towards the minimum number of EU partners required in a consortium, meaning that some consortia would no longer fulfil the eligibility criteria. Under the Horizon 2020 rules, third countries should not be excluded from coordinating and fully participating in Horizon 2020 projects, once the minimum eligibility conditions are met. There might also be, in some cases, specific limitations for third countries in an original call which could affect consortia with UK partners but this would very much only be known on a case by case basis.

The European Commission has suggested that if the UK continues to pay into the 2019 EU budget and agrees to fulfil conditions regarding audits and controls, UK participants in the programme would still be eligible for funding during 2019, however, the details of this potential arrangement would need to be determined and agreed.

Conditions for mono-beneficiary grants (ERC and MSCA IFs) are different since third countries are not eligible to participate in these schemes to host fellows, however, they are covered by the government underwrite and current projects will continue to be funded.

The message from the University is to continue to apply for all funding schemes.

The University has now submitted all our current projects to UKRI for their work on managing the underwrite in case of no-deal.

Any questions about specific projects or proposals then please contact me Liz.Fay@manchester.ac.uk

BEIS Publishes updated Q&A on UK participation in Horizon 2020

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published an updated version of its Q&A document on the UK's participation in Horizon 2020.

The latest version of the document brings the text up to date, taking into account the latest developments in the Brexit negotiations such as the deal on the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration (on future relationship between the UK and the EU), as well as the launch of the UKRI Portal used to collect information about on-going Horizon 2020/FP7 projects.

Like the previous version (published in August 2018), the document is divided into the following sections:

Withdrawal Agreement
Underwrite Guarantee
Post EU Exit Guarantee Extension
Mobility
International collaboration
Horizon Europe
Euratom Research and Training Programme

There is also a useful UKRO Brexit factsheet which can be accessed through the UKRO Portal and which provides a useful summary of the most important information related to Brexit and its impact on UK's participation in EU programmes.

If you have any questions please contact Liz.Fay@manchester.ac.uk.