A new report from the EU commission shows that Denmark is proficient at obtaining funding from the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020. Since the programme began at the beginning of 2014, Danish researchers and companies have secured 300 million euros (over 2.2 billion kroner) in support.

This puts Denmark in second place, behind the Netherlands, in terms of the amount of funding received per capita.

Could do better
Esben Lunde Larsen, the minister for education and research, is satisfied that so much funding has already found its way to Denmark, but wants to encourage even more companies to benefit.

“It’s a very good result for Danish researchers and companies. Now what is needed is to keep the high level and ensure that more companies across the country are aware of the possibilities for obtaining EU funds,” he said.

“The money leads to growth in the companies and, not least, jobs in the whole of Denmark.”

To this end, the education and research ministry has created a network, Horizon 2020-NET, that is intended to allow institutions and companies to share their experiences with the funding programme and increase awareness of the opportunities available.

Horizon 2020 has three programme sections: ‘Excellent Science’, ‘Societal Challenges’ and ‘Industrial Leadership’. Denmark performs most strongly in the ‘Excellent Science’ and ‘Societal Challenges’ sections, with Danish projects accounting for 2.83 percent and 3.47 percent respectively of the total funds awarded. In the ‘Industrial Leadership’ section Danish projects receive just 1.39 percent of the backing.