Denmark benefits from more EU research funding than ever before

Danish researchers and companies have reaped record amounts from the EU FP7 framework programme for research and innovation.

Danes represent just 1 per cent of the total EU population. However, Denmark is among the most effective European countries in receiving research funding from the EU. Only Switzerland and Finland have higher per capita percentages.

Danish participants now receive 2.36 per cent (per capita) of funding from FP7 competitive calls. This is the equivalent to Danish researchers and companies getting nearly DKK 80 million a month since the framework programme began in 2007.

It corresponds to a total of DKK 5.8 billion of EU funding for Danish research and innovation environments.

More funding for business

Minister for Science, Innovation and Higher Education Morten Østergaard is pleased with the development. He sees great opportunities when the FP7 programme is replaced by the world’s largest, publically-financed research programme, Horizon 2020.

- Horizon 2020 has increased focus on research and innovation solving great societal challenges and Denmark has particular qualifications for attracting research funding and transforming it to solutions and Danish jobs. I am pleased with our impressive results, but still believe that we must focus on improvement. Therefore, there are a number of initiatives in the government’s new innovation strategy aimed at more researchers and SMEs than ever before and ensuring better guidance for them. There is enormous potential for a knowledge society such as we have in Denmark, says Morten Østergaard.

Denmark is ranked as the third best country for receiving the most EU funding per capita from the FP7 programme. When measured compared to GDP, Denmark is seventh on the list and therefore there is room for improvement.

DKK 1 billion for elite Danish researchers

The Danish share of funding from the European Research Council (ERC) has increased for the third year in a row. Since 2007 elite Danish researchers have received almost DKK 1 billion from the FP7 programme.

The ERC is Denmark’s largest source of funding of all the shared programmes under FP7. The establishment of the ERC was a focal point of the Danish EU Presidency in 2002 and still is with regard to negotiations on the future framework programme, Horizon 2020.

There is particular success within the fields of Danish innovation and energy research, and they receive a significant share of funding from the energy programmes. Almost every third application that has a Danish partner and is seeking energy-related funding from the European Commission is successful. This is a significantly higher than the average – which is less than every fourth application to the energy programme receiving funding.

The budget for the FP7 energy programme is not among the largest programmes. However, Danish research and innovation applicants to this programme are so successful, it accounts for a third of Denmark’s overall funding from the FP7 programme.

The EU’s new framework programme, Horizon 2020, is expected to allocate about DKK 530 billion for research and innovation between 2014 and 2020.

For further information, please contact:

Head of Office Claus Beck-Tange, tel. +45 7231 7980, email: clbt@vus.dk

Press Officer Ingeborg Nielsen, tel. +45 2211 0200, email: imen@fivu.dk