Seal of Excellence

On 12 October 2015, the European Commission started a new initiative for improving the synergies between Horizon 2020 and the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF): The so-called "Seal of Excellence" is to be a quality label for applications in calls under Horizon 2020 which received an excellent evaluation but could not be funded under Horizon 2020 for budgetary reasons.

The Seal of Excellence contains a document signed by Commissoner Moedas (responsible for research) and Commissioner Cretu (responsible for cohesion policy). It is intended to facilitate access to ESIF funds, but also to funds from other sources. In its first phase, this initiative focusses on individual applicants in the SME programme. The European Commission is planning to expand the concept to other suitable parts of Horizon 2020 (e.g. ERC, Marie Curie).

For further details see http://ec.europa.eu/research/regions/index.cfm.