On August 4, 2023, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a draft act “Some Issues of the National Research Foundation’s Activities” was approved in order to create a Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine on the basis of the Foundation.
The adoption of the act opens the possibility of signing a grant agreement between the National Research Foundation and the European Commission, which will provide funding for the Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine for the next 3 years.
The decision to create an Office on the basis of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine was initiated by the EU following the results of the 1st Meeting of the Ukraine-EU Joint Committee on Research and Innovation, which took place on November 17-18, 2022. According to it, the National Research Foundation of Ukraine will be granted a grant in the amount of 1.5 million euros without participation in the competitive procedures of the European Commission.
In general, the work of the Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine will contribute to the formation and implementation of new scientific and innovative projects within the framework of the EU Horizon Europe research and innovation program, the development of human capital, the return of scientists to Ukraine and the further integration of Ukraine into the European Union and the European Union. research space.
The main tasks of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine will be:
- providing support to Ukrainian organizations – potential participants of the Horizon Europe program, National Contact Points (NCPs), organizing targeted information events on cooperation opportunities in the field of science and innovation by preparing relevant communication materials, conducting training events on the formation of competitive proposals, assistance in finding partners on projects in the EU and around the world;
- control and analysis of the implementation of cooperation projects in the field of research and innovation;
- raising awareness of success stories and dealing with specific project implementation issues in Ukraine (legal, operational, financial, etc.);
- promoting the active participation of Ukraine in the Horizon Europe program in cooperation with Ukrainian representatives in the Horizon Europe program committees and with a focus on Ukraine’s priorities in the field of scientific, scientific, technical and innovative activities under the overall coordination of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine;
- providing advice on policies related to the integration of Ukraine into the European Research Area (ERA), in accordance with the priorities of the Roadmap for the integration of the scientific and innovation system into the ERA, support for Ukraine’s participation in the management structures of the ERA.