Article 20 · Regulation (EU) 2021/819

Contents

Article 20Monitoring and evaluation of the EIT#

1.The EIT shall ensure that its activities, including those managed through the KICs, shall be subject to continuous and systematic monitoring and periodic independent evaluation in accordance with its financial rules, to ensure both the highest quality of outcome, scientific excellence and the most efficient use of resources. The outcomes of the monitoring and of the evaluations shall be made public.

2.The Commission, with the assistance of independent external experts and taking into account the views of stakeholders, shall carry out, in a timely manner, an interim and a final evaluation of the EIT and the KICs. Those evaluations shall feed into the Horizon Europe evaluations provided for in Article 52 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695.Those evaluations shall examine how the EIT fulfils its mission and objectives and cover activities of the EIT and the KICs. They shall assess the Union added value of the EIT, the impact across the Union and the impact of the RIS activities, openness, effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the EIT activities pursued and their consistency and complementarity with relevant Union and national policies, including the synergies with other parts of Horizon Europe, in particular the other European Partnerships and missions and the EIC.The interim evaluation shall also assess, inter alia, the result and impacts of the pilot higher education initiative, the effectiveness of the KICs’ financial sustainability strategies and the collaboration between the EIT and implementing bodies under Pillar III ‘Innovative Europe’ of Horizon Europe. In that respect, the EIT evaluations shall feed into Horizon Europe evaluations, also in view of a systematic assessment of the Pillar III ‘Innovative Europe’ of Horizon Europe, in particular with respect to the one-stop shop for innovation.

3.The Commission may carry out further evaluations of themes or topics of strategic relevance, with the assistance of independent external experts selected on the basis of a transparent process, to examine the progress made by the EIT towards the objectives set, identify the factors contributing to the implementation of the activities and identify best practices. By carrying out those further evaluations, the Commission shall fully consider the administrative burden on the EIT and the KICs.

4.The Commission shall communicate the results of the evaluations, accompanied by its observations, to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. The Governing Board shall take due account of the findings of evaluations in carrying out the programmes and operations of the EIT.

Defined terms · 12

Show every defined term

co-location centre
means a physical hub, established in an open and transparent manner, which promotes links between and active collaboration among knowledge triangle actors and acts as a focal point for knowledge exchange and through which the KICs’ partners are able to access facilities and the expertise needed to pursue their common objectives;
cross-KIC activities
means activities that aim to enhance cooperation and synergies between KICs, foster a more inter-disciplinary approach and create a critical mass among KICs to tackle topics of common interest;
financial sustainability
means a capacity of a KIC to finance its knowledge triangle activities independently of contributions from the EIT.
HEI
means a university or any type of higher education institution which, in accordance with national law or practice, offers degrees and diplomas in particular at master’s or doctoral level, regardless of its denomination in the national context;
innovation
means the process, including its outcome, by which new ideas respond to societal, economic or environmental needs and demand and generate new products, processes, services, or business, organisational and social models that are successfully introduced into an existing market or that are able to create new markets and that provide value to society;
KIC
means a large-scale Institutionalised European Partnership, as referred to in Regulation (EU) 2021/695, of higher education institutions, research organisations, companies and other stakeholders in the innovation process in the form of a strategic network, regardless of its legal form, based on joint mid- to long-term innovation planning to meet the EIT challenges and contribute to attaining the objectives established under Regulation (EU) 2021/695;
memorandum of cooperation
means an agreement between the EIT and a KIC, aiming to keep the KIC as an active member of the EIT Community after the expiry of the partnership agreement, and which includes the conditions for access to EIT competitive calls for some specific activities and transnational activities with a high Union added value;
partner organisation
means a legal entity which is a member of a KIC and may include, in particular, higher education institutions, vocational education and training providers, research organisations, public institutions, public or private companies, financial institutions, regional and local authorities, foundations and not-for-profit organisations;
research organisation
means a public or private legal entity which undertakes research or technological development as one of its main objectives;
RIS
means a scheme fostering the integration of the knowledge triangle and the innovation capacity of countries (and regions in those countries) that are classified as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest’ innovators in the European Innovation Scoreboard as referred to in the SIA and of the outermost regions within the meaning of Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular by attracting and integrating new partners into the KICs and bridging regional disparities, thereby mitigating the innovation divide;
SIA
means an act setting out the priority fields and the strategy of the EIT for future initiatives, the EIT’s capacity to generate the best innovation added-value, the EIT’s objectives, key actions, mode of operation, expected results and impact, as well as an estimate of the resources needed for the period of Horizon Europe and the MFF;
stakeholder forum
means a platform open to representatives of Union institutions, national, regional and local authorities, organised interests and individual entities from business, higher education, research, associations, civil society and cluster organisations, as well as other interested parties from across the knowledge triangle;