On October 16th, Carina Dantas, CEO of SHINE 2Europe, took part in the “Horizon Europe: Legal and Financial Aspects” webinar, organized by Portugal’s National Innovation Agency (ANI). The event provided key insights into handling legal and financial matters in Horizon Europe projects, covering topics such as budgeting, financial reporting, audits, third-party involvement, international collaboration, and the increasing use of lump-sum funding models.
Representing the SIRENE and INTEGER projects, Carina Dantas shared her experiences with lump-sum financing, discussing both the advantages and practical challenges. She highlighted the INTEGER project, which seeks to accelerate the integration of social innovation actors and digital business hubs in three European regions: Catalonia, Krakow, and Hamburg. The project has organized hackathons within these innovation ecosystems and introduced a new role—the col.laber—a facilitator for next-generation living labs, known as Col·laboratories, based on the quadruple helix collaboration model.
Dantas also underscored the complexities of budgeting for multifaceted projects like INTEGER, which include organising events, conferences, and developing digital solutions. However, she noted that with strong initial planning, the lump-sum model functioned smoothly, with no major hurdles in its practical implementation. The webinar, which attracted about 500 participants, featured a panel of experts including Alexandre Manuel Ferreira Marques, Ana Li, and Maria João Fernandes. The panel tackled key questions on lump-sum funding and unit costs, which are becoming increasingly relevant for the future of Horizon Europe projects. The session can be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/LOAaqzL9F5s.