The Factories of the Future partnership received a positive review within the broader EU mid-term review of nine contractual public-private partnerships (cPPPs).

The Factories of the Future cPPP was found to be a success. It has achieved the purpose for which it was created and is specifically considered as industry-relevant. The report notes that the Factories of the Future cPPP is very popular among SMEs: the level of funding secured for SMEs through Factories of the Future is higher than, on average, elsewhere in Horizon 2020.

While noting that the cPPPs are not directly comparable, the report found “...overall the management of the cPPPs has been efficient”.

Launched as part of the mid-term review of Horizon 2020, the report examined the implementation and progress of the cPPPs since their continuation/launch under the framework programme. Its terms of reference were efficiency, relevance, coherence, effectiveness and EU added value.

Furthermore, the report notes that “in the case of mature cPPPs, like FoF, there is a clear impact on national policies” and underlined the active role of EFFRA and its membership in helping to achieve this.

The review made several recommendations to the cPPPs, rather than recommendations specific to each cPPP, which the Commission and associations are to consider. These include clearer links between roadmaps and calls, member state representation, a redesign of the KPI framework (considering the positive impact of the EFFRA/Factories of the Future toolkit) and a move to a missions-based approach.

The publication of the report is timely as currently the successor programme of Horizon 2020 is being debated. The Factories of the Future community has high hopes that its cPPP will have a prominent role in the upcoming Framework Programme 9.

Mid-Term Review