For 25 years already, Polish teams have been using funding from the EU Framework Programmes. When carrying out our first projects, we participated in the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) as an associated country. After that, already as a member of the European Union, we were actively involved in the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) implemented between 2003 and 2006.

Since the commencement of our participation in the Framework Programmes, i.e. from the Fifth Framework Programme to the present, Polish organisations have been engaged in 7,131 projects and received total net funding of over EUR 2 billion.

With each of the Framework Programmes, the participation of Polish organisations increased – both in terms of net funding received and the number of project participations.

Under FP5, Polish organisations implemented 890 projects with a total net co-financing of almost EUR 114 million. Under the Sixth Framework Programme, we participated in 1,394 projects with financing of nearly EUR 220 million; in the Seventh Framework Programme, funding already amounted to over EUR 444 million; in Horizon 2020 – there was funding of approx. EUR 744 million. The current FP – Horizon Europe (HE) – is almost at the halfway point and so far Poland has received EUR 667.1 million in funding.

A comparison of the two completed programmes: FP6, i.e. the first one in which Poland participated as an EU Member State, and Horizon 2020, shows tremendous progress: a nearly 2.5-fold increase in net funding and a nearly 50% increase in participation. An even higher growth rate is observed when comparing H2020 to FP5 (more than a 5-fold increase in net funding and 150% increase in participation, respectively).

The increase in the volume of funding results from, among other things, the increasing number of projects implemented with each subsequent programme – 890 projects in FP5, 1,394 projects in FP6, 1,961 projects in H2020. This growing trend clearly shows that FP5 was the one in which Polish entities gained their first experience in obtaining funds for ground-breaking research and innovative solutions. However, it should be noted that FP5 and FP6 had a 4-year implementation cycle, while subsequent Framework Programmes have been launched for 7-year periods.

A very important indicator of the involvement of Polish entities in the Framework Programmes is the average funding per project. When comparing the programmes with the same 7-year cycles, the average funding increased from EUR 256,000 in the 7th Framework Programme to over EUR 379,000 in H2020. The upward trend also continues in Horizon Europe which is currently implemented (until 2027), with an average funding per project of over EUR 465,900.

The above figures show that Polish teams are becoming more and more confidently involved in international Framework Programme projects and are reaching for ever higher levels of funding. We are currently observing a very dynamic increase in the participation of Polish entities: an analysis of the first 523 competitions in Horizon Europe confirms a nearly 126 per cent increase in the value of funding compared to the same period of Horizon 2020 and a 40 per cent increase in the number of projects involving Polish entities – which also translates into higher funding per project. Out of EUR 2 billion gained in total over 25 years in the Framework Programmes, almost EUR 670 million, which is as much as one-third, have been obtained in the last three years (Horizon Europe started in late spring 2021)!

The statistics presented above are based on the data contained in the European Commission report and dashboards prepared by the NCP (as of 21 August 2024).