(05 November 2013) – The European Commission has appointed the 15 groups of independent experts to advise on priorities for Horizon 2020, the next EU research and innovation programme.
Following an open call inviting experts from all fields to participate, more than 15.000 responded by the first deadline in March of this year. From these, around 400 experts were chosen for the 15 groups, with 20-30 in each.
The groups include industry and public research actors as well as representatives of civil society. The groups are one of the key sources of advice on the implementation of Horizon 2020, in particular the priorities for the development of the work programmes from which the calls for research and innovation proposals are published.
While all groups have been appointed, groups are being finalised on an on-going basis as individual experts accept the appointment. Most of the groups can already be found on the European Commission’s online register for expert groups.
The call for expressions of interest will stay open for the lifetime of the Horizon 2020 programme in order to accommodate the renewal of groups at the end of each mandate. The mandate of the selected experts is for a period of 2 years with the possibility of renewal for a further maximum 2 years.