> I contributed to a couple of projects that received money from FP7 (sort of the previous iteration of Horizon 2020). In a certain sense, the whole thing seeme

> I contributed to a couple of projects that received money from FP7 (sort of the previous iteration of Horizon 2020). In a certain sense, the whole thing seemed like a huge waste of money. I guess your mileage does indeed vary. I contributed to a subproject of a major FP7 research program, which counted with the collaboration of a major industrial manufacturing company, a state research institute, and a couple of university research groups. In the end, besides a hand full of research papers, the industrial company developed a commercial product which is being rolled out as we speak. The state research institute didn't gained much out of the deal but we did developed institutional relationships that have been fruitful since then. What you take from a research program is proportional to the legwork you put in. I'm sure some projects aren't immediately fruitful but it's short-sighted to claim that the money is wasted, specially if you take into account that this expenditure is what makes this sort of industrial effort possible.