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What to consider when writing the Impact section of a H2020 proposal


4th May 2020 at 5:52 pm



The recent extensions on H2020 proposal deadlines has given those currently preparing a proposal for one of the open H2020 call topics more time to write the Part B1 document. This also means that there is now more time to deliver on the impact of the proposed project. The Part B1 of all Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) and Innovation Actions (IAs) is divided into three main sections: Excellence, Impact and Implementation. In this blog we are focusing on what needs to be covered by the Impact section, which accounts for up to a third of the overall score in RIAs and is weighted by a factor of 1.5 in IAs.

The H2020 proposal template provides a short description of the mandatory headers required in your proposal and what information is expected there. However, there is a lot of room for interpretation. Below we have listed all mandatory aspects in the impact section, what content is expected and key tips based on our experience from writing H2020 and other funding scheme proposals.

Expected impacts (Section 2.1, mandatory)

Many researchers consider the project’s results to be the impact of the project. However, the outcomes should take a broader view on the expected impact and the value of the project. When describing the expected impacts of your proposal, try to be as specific as possible and define indicators to measure these impacts. Our suggestion would be to consider some of the following points when writing the expected impact section:

Measures to maximise impact (Section 2.2, mandatory)

In Horizon 2020 and other funding schemes, all project partners are required to disseminate their (non-confidential) results, foster the future commercial and non-commercial exploitation of their results and communicate about the project to the public. The section measures to maximise impact covers these points.

Targeted and well-thought dissemination, exploitation and communication activities and measures are a necessity if you want to boost the impact of your project, during the project and after its end. Our dissemination and communication experts’ key tips for writing the plans for the dissemination, exploitation and communication activities are:

The H2020 Rules for Participation define the exploitation as the further use of results. This implies that exploitation strategies and measures to implement these should be described in the impact section. Here are some ideas on what to consider:

Similar to the dissemination and communication activities, we recommend defining key performance indicators (KPIs) also for the exploitation measures to make your plans quantifiable.

Contact our experts

A key part of our proposal writing service includes the drafting of the non-scientific parts of the proposal which covers the impact as well as the management section. As a dissemination and exploitation partner in currently about 20 H2020 projects, accelopment can help plan, write and implement activities and measures targeting all your project’s stakeholders. Together, we can make your impact section efficient and measurable to ensure the widest possible outreach. Please contact one of our experienced communication experts:

Julia Götz
Project Manager Communications

Jacqueline Strehler
Project Manager Communications