European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) 2014-2020
PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EC) No 294/2008 establishing the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), in the perspective of the contribution of the EIT to the general objective of “Horizon 2020 – The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation”.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EC) No 1292 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 294/2008 establishing the European Institute of Innovation and Technology
CONTENT: the amending Regulation aims to ensure that, during the period 2014-2020, the EIT contributes to the objectives of "Horizon 2020 - The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation" by integrating the knowledge triangle of higher education, research and innovation.
Mission and objectives: the EIT’s mission is to contribute to sustainable European economic growth and competitiveness by reinforcing the innovation capacity of the Member States and the Union in order to address major challenges faced by European society.
The EIT should:
· foster entrepreneurship in its higher education, research and innovation activities. The aim is to promote excellent entrepreneurial education and support the creation of start-ups and spin-offs;
· directly engage with national and regional representatives and other stakeholders from across the innovation chain: an EIT Stakeholder Forum should be established, bringing together the wider community of stakeholders around horizontal issues.
· carry out information and communication activities targeting relevant stakeholders;
· promote an appropriately balanced participation between the different actors from the knowledge triangle involved in the Knowledge and Innovation Communities ("KICs");
· promote strong participation from the private sector, in particular micro-/small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs").
EIT bodies: the Regulation simplifies the composition of the EIT bodies, streamlines the functioning of the EIT Governing Board and clarifies the respective roles and tasks of the Governing Board and the Director.
Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC): new KICs, including their priority fields and the organisation and timing of the selection process, should be launched on the basis of modalities defined in the Strategic Innovation Agenda following an open, transparent and competitive process. The EIT must adopt and publish detailed criteria for the selection of the KICs, based on the principles of excellence and innovation relevance.
The EIT shall organise continuous monitoring and periodic external evaluations of the output, results and impact of each KIC. The results of such monitoring and evaluations shall be reported to the European Parliament and to the Council and shall be made public. A KIC shall normally have a time frame of seven to fifteen years.
The EIT contribution shall not, on average, exceed 25 % of a KIC’s overall funding.
Programming and reporting: the EIT Triennial Work Programme must take into account the Commission’s opinion concerning the EIT’s specific objectives, as defined in Horizon 2020, and its complementarities with Union policies and instruments.
The EIT shall transmit the annual report to the European Parliament and the Council and inform them of the activities of the EIT, its contribution to Horizon 2020 and to the Union innovation, research and education policies and objectives at least once a year.
Budgetary commitments: the financial envelope from Horizon 2020 for the implementation of this Regulation during the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 is set at EUR 2 711.4 million in current prices.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 01/01/2014.