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HORIZONT EUROPE - Global Challenges and Competitiveness - Cluster 4 - Digitalisation, Industry and Space

Digitisation and the development of technologies, including space, are having a decisive impact on all economic sectors and society as a whole. They underpin the transformation of industrial production and the emergence of new products and services that fundamentally affect the way we live and are key to future sustainable development.  The main strategic priorities of Cluster 4 are:

• Transforming European industry for a clean, climate-neutral, circular and competitive economy
• Ensuring (strengthening) European leadership and strategic autonomy in key technologies
• Developing technologies and innovations that serve citizens

The expected impacts of this part of the second pillar of Horizon Europe are reflected in 6 work programme areas (called Destinations)

1.  Climate neutral, circular and digitised production
2. Increased autonomy in key strategic value chains for resilient industry
3. World leading data and computing technologies
4. Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the Green Deal
5. Open strategic autonomy in developing, deploying and using global space-based infrastructures, services, applications and data
6. A human-centred and ethical development of digital and industrial technologies

Areas 1 and 2 are mainly relevant for industry, areas 3 and 4 for digitalisation and area 5 for space.

Basic information about Horizon Europe can be found on the EC website, and about Cluster 4 specifically here.

Following the publication of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024, the 2023 calls opened on 8 December 2022 - the closure dates can be found here. For two-round calls, these are first-round closures, which will be evaluated without revealing the identity of the applicants to the evaluators (Blind evaluations).

The work programme of Cluster 4 can be found here. 

HORIZONT EUROPE - Global Challenges and Competitiveness - Cluster 3 - Civil Security for Society

Security is one of the priorities in the life of our society, and due attention must be paid to it. Security threats have no boundaries, so a concerted and coordinated effort from politicians, industry and security forces to research is needed to bring about the necessary innovations in technology and practices and an understanding of the human factor. Cluster 3 focuses on a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to addressing civilian security issues to support the implementation of relevant EU priorities,

The main objective is to protect citizens and the European economy, public spaces and critical infrastructures of all types from terrorism and crime, and to ensure a secure digital environment. Research includes understanding the root causes of terrorism and crime to ensure effective prevention and innovation of technologies and procedures for early warning as well as for rapid and effective response in the event of a real threat. The protection of external borders is aimed at the legal, safe and rapid movement of people and goods.  The objective in the field of cyber security is to create a trustworthy and, above all, secure digital environment using the latest technologies and services.

The Cluster3 will work in synergy with the Digital Europe Programme, the Internal Security Fund and the Integrated Border Management Fund and will be coordinated with EU defence research in the areas of dual use applications. The research focuses on the needs identified by end-users and on building the capacity of the security sector to anticipate threats and respond optimally to the consequences of incidents, as well as on understanding the human factor and the societal context.

The topics addressed will be closely coordinated with key European agencies such as FRONTEX, JRC, ENISA and the European Defence Agency EDA. Research tasks are adapted to progress from prevention to response and recovery, with an emphasis on interoperability of technologies and services.  The solutions are rigorously attentive to respect for human rights, protection of personality and the social context of the impact of technologies. Coherence with the results of previous projects and linkages with other programmes, in particular EU programmes on homeland security and digital technologies, shall be monitored.

Cluster 3 is structured into six areas (destinations):

• Better protecting Europe and its people from crime and terrorism
• Effective protection of the EU's external borders
• Resilient infrastructure 
• Improved cyber security
• A disaster-resilient society
• Enhanced security research and innovation

EC information on the whole HE programme is here and details on Cluster 3 are here

On 6 December 2022, the European Commission published the Cluster 3 work programme with calls for the period 2023-24. The calls will open 42 topics with a total budget of almost €320 million. The call deadlines are in November 2023.

The Prague Technology Centre organised a National Information Day on the challenges of 2023 on 24 November.