The Research Executive Agency is an executive agency established by the European Commission in order to manage specific Community activities in the field of research and innovation. The REA's mission is to assist the Commission in achieving the objectives of the Research Framework Programmes and the EU strategies to foster growth through research and innovation. The agency started operating in 2009.
providing support services for the Horizon 2020 evaluation process by handling the contracting and payments of evaluator experts, by coordinating the call planning and by managing the central evaluation facility for various Commission Directorates-General and Executive Agencies of the European Commission
verifying the legal existence of programme participants based on their legal status and performing financial viability checks on organisations which receive EU funding
managing the European Commission , which answers questions from applicants, beneficiaries of the EU research funding and the public
Programme implementation tasks
REA manages approximately 20% of the budget of Horizon 2020 which began in 2014. In particular the Agency is in charge of:
- supporting the European space research community in developing innovative technologies
– funding R&I projects addressing food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy
- Innovative, inclusive and reflective societies - funding research projects addressing, among other things, social exclusion, inequality, social innovation and the European cultural heritage
- Secure societies - funding research projects in the areas of crisis management, fight against crime and terrorism, external and border security, cyber security, privacy and trust
- aiming at strengthening research and innovation performance, encouraging stronger participation in Horizon 2020 and facilitating partnering opportunities with a view to boost capacities for low R&I performing countries of the EU
- aiming, among other things, at making scientific and technological careers attractive to young students, promoting gender equality in research, encouraging citizen participation in science and promoting an ethics framework for research and innovation
Under the EU's Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020, the budget managed by the REA is €17 billion for the period 2014–2020. That is a substantial increase from its initial seven-year budget under the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme, when the total budget managed by REA was €6.4 billion.
