Building networks to apply for European funding (PEER funding)

SUPA received funding from the Scottish Funding Council to compete for, and participate in, European funding. The purpose of the funding, known as PEER, has been to enable SUPA:

  • to submit applications for European funding under Horizon 2020 and as part of that process,

  • to engage and build partnerships with industry, particularly (but not exclusively) Scottish SMEs, and

  • to establish network connections, showcase skills and capabilities and participate in specific networking activities

The final (2018/19) tranche of PEER has been fully committed. No more funding will be available from the SFC, please see our other funding opportunities for support.

Although Brexit has thrown up questions on the current and future status of Horizon 2020 and other EU research funding, it should be noted that the process will take some time, during which the UK will still be able to compete for Horizon 2020 funding. The UK government’s current position (as at Nov 2019) is that they are:

committed to guarantee funding for all successful competitive UK bids to Horizon 2020 that are submitted before we leave the EU, if there’s a no-deal Brexit. The guarantee also covers all successful competitive UK bids to Horizon 2020 calls open to third-country participation submitted between Brexit and the end of 2020. Both the guarantee and extension commit funding to UK Horizon 2020 participants for the lifetime of projects.

PEER funding has been successfully used to support pre-proposal consortium meetings across Europe and to attend networking events and call development events such as Photonics 21 meetings. We have also used PEER funding to help pay for consultant support. To date, 50% of proposals using PEER funded consultant support have been successful (versus 14% overall and 20% in the ICT theme). A number of funded projects have resulted from this support, the total value is currently around four million Euros, bringing around one million pounds into Scotland (one third to universities and two thirds to Scottish SMEs).