Key Exploitable Results in Horizon Europe: how to identify and structure them

As we mentioned in our previous article on Exploitation in Horizon Europe, Key Exploitable Results are one of the most important elements of a solid exploitation strategy.

If you want your Horizon Europe proposal or project to be positively assessed, exploitation cannot remain vague. Evaluators and project officers need to understand what the project is expected to generate, which results have exploitation potential, and who will be responsible for taking them forward.

KERs help translate project outputs into concrete opportunities for use, uptake, transfer, further development, commercialisation or long-term value creation.

In this article, we explain how to identify and structure Key Exploitable Results both at proposal stage and during project implementation.

KERs at proposal stage

At proposal stage, Key Exploitable Results should be presented in a preliminary way.

The project has not yet started, so the consortium cannot define everything in full detail. However, the proposal should already show that partners have a clear and realistic understanding of the expected results and their potential exploitation value.

In a Horizon Europe proposal, this information is usually included in Section 2.2: Measures to maximise impact.

At Blue Ocean, we normally recommend including a preliminary KER table in this section. This table helps evaluators quickly understand what the project may generate and which partners will take responsibility for each result.

KERs during project implementation

Once the project starts, the preliminary KER table should evolve.

In project implementation, the KER portfolio should be updated and refined through the three exploitation deliverables we defined here.

What should a KER portfolio include?

At Blue Ocean, we recommend starting with a simple and clear table that includes three key elements:

1. Description of the potential Key Exploitable Result: result or outcome of the project that could be converted into an exploitable product, service, process, methodology, tool, dataset, policy input or other valuable asset.

2. Type of asset: such as scientific publications, prototypes, datasets, databases, software, hardware, demonstrators, methodologies, models, tools, processes, patents, training courses, policy recommendations, standards, and validation and verification methods. This field is important because each type of result requires a different exploitation logic.

3. Responsible partner(s): to make clear who will take the result forward, who has contributed to it, and whether the exploitation pathway may involve one or several consortium members.

These three elements give evaluators a clear overview of the project’s exploitation potential, while it creates a strong basis for the future exploitation deliverables.

How Blue Ocean supports KER identification

At Blue Ocean, we help consortia identify and structure Key Exploitable Results from proposal stage to project implementation.

Our role is to make exploitation clear, structured, and realistic by helping partners prepare a strong KER portfolio that brings clarity to exploitation.

If you need support, contact us!