The RISE scheme promotes international and cross-sector collaboration through exchanging research and innovation staff, and sharing knowledge and ideas from research to market (and vice-versa). The scheme fosters a shared culture of research and innovation that welcomes and rewards creativity and entrepreneurship and helps to turn creative ideas into innovative products, services or processes.

RISE involves organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors (in particular SMEs), based in Europe (EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries) and outside Europe (third countries).

Support is provided for the development of partnerships in the form of a joint research and innovation project. This is aimed at knowledge sharing via international as well as intersectoral mobility, based on secondments of research and innovation staff (exchanges) with an in-built return mechanism.