Horizon Funding helps companies grow, EU report says
Are we witnessing a “Horizon effect”? The European Commission recently published a paper evaluating the causal impact of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation on financial firm-level outcomes using a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) approach. The study reviewed +/- 40.000 companies that applied for Horizon 2020 funding. Findings suggest that firms receiving Horizon 2020 grants show average increase of 20% in employment and about 30% in total assets and revenues, compared to comparable companies in the control group, in the years after receiving their first grant.
Positive effects persist even after 2.5 years, which is the average duration of a project in the study sample. Companies in the “Information and communication” and “Professional, scientific and technical activities” NACE sectors are driving the results, while other sectors show insignificant effects.
You can find the study here.
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