Today, during the EU Research & Innovation week, the European Commission (EC) announced its adoption of the second Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe. It covers the period 2025-2027 and will guide the development of future work programmes.
The Horizon Europe strategic plan for 2025-2027 builds on an extensive analysis conducted by the EC, including a gap analysis on the missing topics and potential gaps within the intervention areas provided in the Horizon Europe legal basis. The strategic plan has been co-created by Commission services and co-designed with the European Parliament, Member States and Associated Countries as well as more than 2000 stakeholders and citizens who have contributed at various stages of the strategic planning process for Horizon Europe.
The Strategic Plan sets out three key strategic orientations for the last three years of the Horizon Europe programme, namely:
- Green transition
- Digital transition
- A more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe
Open strategic autonomy and securing Europe’s leading role in developing and deploying critical technologies are overarching principles that apply across all three key strategic orientations.
In addition, the Strategic Plan proposes nine new European co-funded and co-programmed partnerships, introduces the New European Bauhaus Facility, and provides an overview of the achievements from the first few years’ delivery of the EU Missions. It also addresses issues such as the balance of research and innovation and the integration of social sciences and humanities.
The Horizon Europe main 2025 Work Programme will be developed following the orientations of the newly adopted strategic plan. In April 2024, the Commission will launch a feedback process for the 2025 Work Programme, which will be open to all stakeholders.
For applicants, the Strategic Plan can be a useful resource to consult to understand the direction of the programme over the coming years, but also to help inform the way project proposals address the impact evaluation criteria.