New deal confirms Human Brain Project funding
The European Commission (EC) says it has signed a partnership agreement with the Geneva-based Human Brain Project (HBP), confirming its support of the international research infrastructure until 2020.
The EC selected both the Human Brain ProjectExternal link and Graphene in 2013 to receive €1 billion (CHF1.1 billion) each over ten years as Future and Emerging Technology FlagshipsExternal link.
The signing of the framework partnership agreement (FPA) confirms that the HBP will continue to receive funding – pending successful independent reviews and proposal evaluations – from the European Union research and innovation programme Horizon 2020External link. It also specifies the research consortium’s governance structure and scientific roles and responsibilities over the next 7.5 years.
The agreement, announced on Friday, reinforces changes made to the HBP’s governance and scientific structure, after the international neuroscience community last year voiced concern about the Project’s scientific scope and direction.
The HBP, coordinated by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) professor Henry Markram, involves 400 researchers from 24 countries around the world, and is dedicated to simulating the human brain using supercomputers.
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