The “Horizon Results Booster” consortium led by META Group has won a 4-year European Commission contract worth €12 million called the “Common Support Service for Dissemination, Exploitation and Valorisation of Research Results”.
The new service aims to provide EU-funded projects with the expert support needed to convert their research into “user ready” results. The consortium consists of META Group, Ecorys, Trust IT Srl, BDO Advisory CVBA, iCons Srl with PNO Consultants as a subcontractor.
In collaboration with the other partners, META will employ its tried-and-tested ‘Knowledge to Market’ machine, a systematic approach that can successfully vault research from the laboratory to the market and beyond.
“This is the largest contract on Dissemination and Exploitation, D&E, ever awarded by the European Commission. Having the possibility / responsibility to bring it to fruition is an exciting challenge for our team, but above all it represents the culmination of a path that started more than 25 years ago that has always seen us at the spot of researchers,” says META Group’s COO and leader of the service, Alessia Melasecche Germini.
META has already supported more than 800 research projects throughout Europe to do this, through EU-supported initiatives like the Common Exploitation Booster, the IP Booster and Support Services for Exploitation of Research Results (SSERR). The consortium will mobilise more than 200 experts to guide the researchers to generate impact on society, economy, environment and policymaking.
Although Europe accounts for 20% of global research investment and produces one-third of all scientific publications, there is a limited capacity within Europe to convert scientific breakthroughs into usable results and industrial and commercial successes – the so-called European paradox. The Horizon Results Booster aims to buck this trend, by supporting researchers throughout Europe to unleash their innovative potential.
Many people believe that making use of research results means commercialisation, but in fact research can have impact in many ways. Results can be used for another research project, such as a PhD thesis or another project, they can take the form of policy recommendations and of course IPR actions, applying new production techniques and launching new products into the market.
“Our services are designed and delivered to boost the impact of R&I projects, supporting partners in their efforts to ensure their research activities creates a long-lasting impression on the economy and society at large. Our goal is to maximize the use of R&I projects, their tangible effect on society and economy,” says Andrea Di Anselmo, Vice-President of META and part of the leading Team.