Projects and financing

With a budget of €95.5 billion, Horizon Europe is the world's largest research and innovation programme. The programme supports collaborations that will develop new knowledge and solutions to major societal challenges.

Horizon Europe is divided into three pillars:

• From research

• Global societal challenges and competitive business

• Innovative Europe

The Research Council of Norway has the overall coordination responsibility for the Framework Programme. At the pillar level, the Research Council has the main responsibility for pillars one and two, while Innovation Norway has the main responsibility for pillar three.

In addition to the three main pillars, Horizon Europe has a cross-cutting component called WIDERA. This component aims to ensure wider participation in and contribution to strengthening the European Research Area (ERA).

The Research Council and Innovation Norway collaborate to assist Norwegian actors in applying for calls for proposals, and there are national contact persons (NCPar) linked to the areas in Horizon Europe.

Erasmus+ is the EU's programme for education, training, youth and sport, and is the largest education programme in the world. Norway has participated since 1992. Erasmus+ has a budget of 26.5 billion euros for the current programme period (2021-2027), which is almost double the previous period. Mobility (KA1) accounts for around 70% of the budget, while the rest goes to cross-border cooperation projects (KA2) and policy development (KA3).

Erasmus+ has four priority areas:

• Sustainability

• Digitization

• Inclusion

• Active citizenship

Approximately 75 percent of the funds are announced by the national agencies in each country, while the European Commission announces the rest. In Norway, the Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) has national responsibility for Erasmus+. The Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir) is responsible for the youth part of Erasmus+.

Creative Europe is the EU's programme for cultural cooperation and has a budget of €2.44 billion for the period 2021-2027. The programme has a clear focus on inclusion, diversity and female talent, as well as a focus on green transition, cultural heritage and increasing audience acceptance for European works. Various actors within architecture, cultural heritage, design, music, performing arts, literature and publishing can apply for support through the various grant schemes.  

Creative Europe consists of two sub-programmes:

• Creative Europe Culture 

• Creative Europe MEDIA 

The Directorate of Culture is the official contact point for Creative Europe and is responsible for informing and guiding Norwegian actors about the program for arts and culture. The MEDIA Desk of the Norwegian Film Institute is responsible for informing and guiding Norwegian actors about the program for TV, film and games.

The Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) is the EU's investment and capacity-building programme for digital transformation and the use of digital technologies in society and business. The programme has a budget of €7.17 billion for the period 2021-2027, and has six focus areas:

• Heavy lifting

• Cloud technology

• Artificial intelligence and data

• Digital security

• Advanced digital competence

• Use of digital technologies

• Semiconductors ( chips )

DIGITAL represents a joint effort to strengthen business, ensure better and more efficient public services, and increase digital competence in Europe. The program will also contribute to solving global challenges and making Europe more technologically independent.

Digdir, Innovation Norway, the Research Council and HK-dir coordinate the Norwegian participation in DIGITAL.

InvestEU is a European investment platform that mobilises private and public capital for investments in businesses and projects in Europe. The European Commission is providing a guarantee of up to €26.2 billion, with an ambition to mobilise at least €372 billion in investments by 2027.

The programme will contribute to the post-pandemic recovery and support the development of a greener, more digital and resilient European economy. InvestEU will also help address new challenges and strengthen European resilience in the face of increased uncertainties related to, among others, climate, environment and security.

The European Commission's guarantee is channelled through partners such as the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB). The partners implement InvestEU in practice and offer various financial instruments, including loans, guarantees and equity.

The InvestEU programme is focused on four thematic areas:

• Sustainable infrastructure

• Research, innovation and digitalization

• Small and medium-sized businesses

• Social investments and human capital

Innovation Norway is the national coordinator for the program.

The EU4health health programme aims to make Europe better equipped to deal with future pandemics and health crises by strengthening European health preparedness and national health systems. This includes, among other things, better access to medical equipment, medicines and other crisis-related equipment, as well as more health workers. Digital transformation, better coordination across borders and data sharing are central to the programme.

EU4health has a budget of 5.3 billion euros. The programme has five focus areas:

• Health preparedness

• Public health and prevention

• Health system and personnel

• Digitization

• Cancer

The Directorate of Health is the national contact point for EU4Health.

The EU's Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) aims to strengthen civil security and preparedness in Europe. The mechanism includes a common European safety net where European countries cooperate and help each other when crises arise.

The Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Preparedness (DSB) manages the scheme in Norway and coordinates participation on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness.

EaSI is the EU's programme for employment and social innovation. The programme is part of the European Social Fund+ (ESF+), and the budget is EUR 761 million for the period 2021-2027. The other support schemes under ESF+ fall outside the scope of the EEA Agreement, and Norway therefore only has access to EaSI.

The programme aims to help Member States achieve high employment, social security, an inclusive labour market and a workforce fit for the future of work – in line with the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights. Programme countries will have access to professional networks, expert groups and good practices, as well as support for intergovernmental cooperation and the scaling up of innovative solutions.

The programme aims to promote competitiveness, sustainability and fair market conditions, and supports SMEs that want to scale up and expand their business internationally. The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) coordinates the programme on behalf of the European Commission.

Norway also participated in the Consumer Programme under SMP (Consumer protection and empowerment), the EU Space Programme (Copernicus, Galileo and EGNOS) and the European Defence Fund (EDF).