NCP ACADEMY

National Contact Points (NCPs) will play a key role in Horizon 2020 as providers of information and assistance to potential applicants and project beneficiaries. They constitute the main interface to the European R&D community for Member States and Associated Countries and the European Commission. While their activities are underpinned by the European Commission’s “Guiding principles for setting up systems of national contact points”, NCPs are appointed and financed at national level so that existing NCP systems show a wide variety of architectures and ways of working. This project aims to create and implement a new and integrated training of Horizon 2020 advisors – the NCP Academy. It brings together NCP Coordinators and NCPs for Legal and Financial aspects of Horizon 2020 to develop the NCP Academy concept and to develop and implement training courses on cross-cutting issues. It addresses quality standards and good practice as well as routes to feedback and communication for this community. In doing so it aims to significantly enhance the performance of NCPs and does so by harnessing the knowledge base already existing within this community. It will be responsive, addressing new issues that emerge during implementation of the Horizon 2020 programme and it will be all-inclusive, providing training to all NCPs, and especially targeting new and/or less experienced NCPs. The consortium will work closely with existing thematic NCP Networks, carefully serving their needs for cross-cutting aspects of Horizon 2020. Expected impacts include achievement of an improved and professionalised NCP service across Europe, thereby helping simplify access to Horizon 2020 calls.