brycewang-stanford EU Horizon Europe Guide
A skill for navigating the EU Horizon Europe Framework Programme, identifying relevant funding calls, understanding eligibility rules, building consortia, and writing competitive proposals. Covers the three-pillar structure, key instruments (ERC, MSCA, collaborative projects), budget planning, and the evaluation process.
Horizon Europe Structure
Three Pillars
Horizon Europe (2021-2027) has a total budget of approximately EUR 95.5 billion, organized into three pillars plus a horizontal component.
Pillar I - Excellent Science (~EUR 25B):
- European Research Council (ERC): frontier research
- Starting Grants: 2-7 years post-PhD, up to EUR 1.5M
- Consolidator Grants: 7-12 years post-PhD, up to EUR 2M
- Advanced Grants: established leaders, up to EUR 2.5M
- Synergy Grants: 2-4 PIs, up to EUR 10M
- Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA): researcher mobility
- Postdoctoral Fellowships: individual mobility
- Doctoral Networks: structured PhD programs
- Staff Exchanges: inter-sector mobility
- Research Infrastructures: access to facilities
Pillar II - Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness (~EUR 53.5B):
- Six clusters:
1. Health
2. Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
3. Civil Security for Society
4. Digital, Industry and Space
5. Climate, Energy and Mobility
6. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Environment
- Missions: Cancer, Climate Adaptation, Oceans, Cities, Soil
Pillar III - Innovative Europe (~EUR 13.6B):
- European Innovation Council (EIC)
- European Innovation Ecosystems
- European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
Finding Relevant Calls
Step-by-step call identification:
1. Funding and Tenders Portal (primary source):
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/
- Search by keyword, cluster, instrument type
- Filter by open calls, upcoming deadlines
- Subscribe to email alerts for your topics
2. Work Programme documents:
- Published every 2 years (2023-2024, 2025-2027)
- Detailed topic descriptions with expected outcomes
- Specify eligible participants, budget, project duration
- Read the FULL topic description, not just the title
3. National Contact Points (NCPs):
- Each EU member state has NCPs for each cluster
- Free advice on eligibility, partner search, proposal review
- Often organize information days and matchmaking events
4. Partner Search:
- CORDIS Partner Service
- Enterprise Europe Network
- NCP matchmaking events
- Conference networking sessions
Proposal Writing
Structure of a Collaborative Proposal (RIA/IA)
Part A: Administrative forms (online)
- Participant information
- Budget tables
- Ethics issues table
- Call-specific declarations
Part B: Technical description (PDF upload)
Section 1 - Excellence (scored):
1.1 Objectives and ambition
1.2 Methodology
1.3 Interdisciplinary/intersectoral approach (if relevant)
Section 2 - Impact (scored):
2.1 Project results and expected impacts
2.2 Communication, dissemination, exploitation
2.3 Summary of measures to maximize impact
Section 3 - Implementation (scored):
3.1 Work plan: work packages, tasks, deliverables, milestones
3.2 Management structure, milestones, critical risks
3.3 Consortium composition and partnership
Note: Page limits are STRICTLY enforced.
Typical limits: 40-50 pages for Part B.
Writing Tips for High Scores
Excellence section:
- Start with the specific call topic text, show exact alignment
- State objectives as SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable,
relevant, time-bound)
- Methodology: explain WHY this approach, not just WHAT you will do
- Include a Gantt chart showing work package timing
- Describe beyond-state-of-the-art contributions explicitly
- Use the exact terminology from the call topic
Impact section:
- Use the Impact Canvas framework: outputs -> outcomes -> impacts
- Quantify impacts where possible (publications, patents, jobs,
policy changes, training beneficiaries)
- Name specific stakeholders who will use your results
- Include a credible exploitation plan (not just "we will publish")
- Show knowledge of the Target and Expected Impacts in the call
Implementation section:
- Work packages should have clear, non-overlapping scope
- Each partner should lead at least one work package
- Include a dedicated management WP (WP1) and dissemination WP
- Risk register with likelihood, impact, and mitigation measures
- Pert chart or Gantt chart is expected
Consortium Building
Partner Selection
Ideal consortium characteristics:
Composition:
- 5-15 partners for a standard RIA (Research and Innovation Action)
- At least 3 partners from 3 different EU member states
- Mix of universities, research institutes, SMEs, industry, CSOs
- Include at least one partner from a widening country (bonus)
Partner roles:
- Coordinator: strong project management track record
- Scientific leads: top researchers in the field
- Industry partners: exploitation and market access
- SMEs: agility, innovation, close to market
- End users: validation, real-world testing
- CSOs/NGOs: societal engagement, responsible innovation
Red flags:
- Partners who do not respond to emails promptly
- Partners with no relevant publications or experience
- Duplicate competencies (no justification for overlap)
- Partners from the same country as the coordinator (too many)
- Partners who cannot provide co-funding if required
Budget Planning
Eligible Costs
Budget categories in Horizon Europe:
A. Personnel costs:
- Actual salary costs or unit costs (daily rates)
- Include employer social charges
- Personnel must be directly working on the project
- Time sheets or equivalent time recording required
B. Subcontracting:
- Must be justified and identified in the proposal
- Cannot subcontract core scientific work
- Subject to best value-for-money procurement
C. Purchase costs:
- Travel and subsistence
- Equipment (depreciation during project period)
- Other goods, works, and services
D. Other cost categories:
- Financial support to third parties (cascading grants)
- Internally invoiced goods and services
E. Indirect costs:
- Flat rate of 25% of eligible direct costs
- No need to justify or document
Funding rates:
- RIA (Research and Innovation Action): 100% of eligible costs
- IA (Innovation Action): 70% (100% for non-profit)
- CSA (Coordination and Support Action): 100%
- MSCA: unit costs (fixed amounts per researcher-month)
- ERC: 100% + 25% indirect
Evaluation Process
How Proposals Are Scored
Evaluation criteria and weights:
Criterion Weight Threshold Score Range
----------- ------ --------- ----------
Excellence varies 3/5 0-5
Impact varies 3/5 0-5
Implementation varies 3/5 0-5
Overall - 10/15 sum of above
Score descriptors:
5 = Excellent: successfully addresses all relevant aspects
4 = Very good: addresses the criterion very well but has
a small number of shortcomings
3 = Good: addresses the criterion well but with
a number of shortcomings
2 = Fair: broadly addresses the criterion but with
significant weaknesses
1 = Poor: fails to convincingly address the criterion
0 = Not applicable or missing
Process:
1. Individual remote evaluation (4-5 evaluators per proposal)
2. Consensus meeting (evaluators discuss and agree scores)
3. Panel review (ranking, budget allocation)
4. Ethics review (if flagged)
5. Grant Agreement preparation (6-9 months after deadline)
Typical success rate: 10-15% for most calls
ERC success rate: 10-12% for Starting Grants
Horizon Europe proposals require significant investment of time and resources. Starting preparation 6 to 12 months before the deadline, engaging National Contact Points early, and assembling a balanced consortium with complementary expertise are the strongest predictors of success, alongside the scientific quality of the proposed research itself.