What is the Horizon Europe Program?

Horizon Europe: Programmes, Collaborative Funding, and How to Apply

Horizon Europe is the EU’s main research and innovation framework programme for 2021–2027, supporting collaborative projects that tackle global challenges and strengthen Europe’s technological leadership. It offers substantial non‑dilutive funding for organisations that are ready to turn excellent science into real‑world impact across climate, health, digital, space, and more.

You can browse official work programmes and open calls on the European Commission’s Horizon Europe programmes and Funding & Tenders pages.

Horizon Europe at a Glance

With a budget of around €95.5 billion for 2021–2027, Horizon Europe is designed to accelerate breakthrough research, de‑risk innovation, and scale solutions that matter for Europe’s green and digital transitions. The programme is structured around three pillars, with Pillar II – “Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness” – hosting most of the large, collaborative projects that bring together academia, industry, public authorities, and civil society.

For deep‑tech startups, SMEs, large companies, universities, and public bodies, Horizon Europe’s collaborative grants offer a way to share risk and cost at higher TRLs, test technologies in real environments, and position themselves at the heart of strategic European value chains. The 2025–2027 Strategic Plan further focuses calls on areas like climate neutrality, digital resilience, strategic autonomy in critical technologies, and societal resilience, aligning funding with the EU’s long‑term policy goals.

Which Horizon Europe Instrument Fits You?

Horizon Europe offers several core “types of action” and related instruments, each serving a different maturity level and strategic objective. Choosing the right one depends on where your innovation sits on the TRL scale, how close you are to market, and whether your main need is research, demonstration, or ecosystem‑building.

At a high level:

• Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) fund early‑stage collaborative research and validation of new technologies.
• Innovation Actions (IA) support near‑market activities, prototyping, piloting, and market replication.
• Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) focus on policy, networking, and standardisation, without a TRL requirement.
• ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) helps PIs explore the innovation and market potential of ERC‑funded frontier research.
• Widening Actions strengthen R&I ecosystems in countries with lower participation, often through capacity‑building consortia.

Horizon Europe instruments overview

Research and Innovation Actions (RIA)

Research and Innovation Actions support collaborative projects that aim to generate new knowledge, explore emerging concepts, and validate promising technologies. They are best suited for early‑stage deep‑tech where the scientific and technical uncertainty is still high, but the potential impact is significant.

• What it funds: Fundamental and applied research, modelling, lab‑scale experimentation, and first validation of technology in relevant environments (typically TRL 2–6).
• Eligibility: At least three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or Associated Countries (“Rule of 3”). Many calls require a balanced mix of academia, industry, and end‑users.
• Funding: 100% of eligible direct costs for all types of participants, plus 25% flat‑rate indirect costs.

If you are still proving your concept and building the scientific foundation of your technology, a well‑positioned RIA can finance a significant part of that journey while anchoring you in a strong international consortium.

Innovation Actions (IA)

Innovation Actions are designed for projects that are closer to the market and need to demonstrate, pilot, and validate their solutions in operational settings. They are ideal for high‑TRL deep‑tech innovations that require real‑world testing, scale‑up, and preparation for commercial deployment.

• What it funds: Prototypes, demonstrators, large‑scale pilots, real‑world trials, and market replication activities (usually TRL 6–8). Business modelling, go‑to‑market strategies, and replication in multiple sites are common elements.
• Funding: 70% of eligible direct costs for for‑profit entities and 100% for non‑profit organisations, in both cases with an additional 25% indirect cost rate.
• 2026 context: Many work programmes increasingly call for credible “market replication” and long‑term scalability, expecting consortia to show clear exploitation pathways, investor interest, and alignment with EU policy targets.

If your technology is validated and you are ready to showcase it with end‑users and deployment partners, an IA can support the jump from pilot to market readiness and scale.

Coordination and Support Actions (CSA)

Coordination and Support Actions focus on the “soft infrastructure” of research and innovation. Rather than funding R&D itself, CSAs strengthen ecosystems, create shared agendas, and prepare the ground for future RIA and IA projects.

• What it funds: Networks, stakeholder platforms, standardisation work, policy dialogues, capacity‑building programmes, dissemination, and knowledge sharing. There is no TRL requirement.
• Funding: 100% of eligible direct costs plus 25% indirect costs for all participants.
• Typical beneficiaries: Public authorities, networks and associations, NGOs, universities, RTOs, industry clusters, and other ecosystem actors.

If your primary goal is to build a community, influence policy, or coordinate multiple stakeholders around a thematic area, a CSA can be the right entry point.

The 6 Global Clusters and EU Missions

Most collaborative calls under Pillar II are grouped into six “Global Challenges” 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 and Environment

Each cluster is broken down into “Destinations” and specific call Topics. These are top‑down: the work programmes define the problems to be solved, the expected outcomes, and the policy context. Successful proposals show a clear fit with the Topic’s “Scope” and “Expected Impact”, and build a consortium that can deliver end‑to‑end along the value chain.

Alongside the clusters, Horizon Europe also includes five EU Missions with ambitious, measurable objectives in areas such as cancer, climate adaptation, oceans, climate‑neutral cities, and soil health. Missions fund coherent portfolios of projects that, together, must move the needle on a concrete 2030 target. This makes alignment with the Mission’s roadmap, stakeholder engagement, and multi‑actor approaches particularly important.

Who Can Apply (by Instrument)

Eligibility rules are always defined at Topic level, but some general patterns apply across Horizon Europe:

• RIA and IA
  • Minimum: Three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or Associated Countries (“Rule of 3”).
  • Typical mix: universities and research organisations, SMEs and large companies, public bodies, NGOs, and end‑user organisations.
• CSA
  • Also generally collaborative, often involving networks, public authorities, and civil‑society actors.
  • Consortia can be more flexible in composition, but still need to respect minimum participation rules.
• ERC Proof of Concept
  • Single Principal Investigator (PI), hosted by an eligible institution in the EU or an Associated Country.
  • Must build on results from an existing ERC frontier research project.
• Widening Actions
  • Consortia structured to include and strengthen entities from so‑called “Widening” countries with historically lower participation in EU R&I programmes.

For international partners outside the EU and Associated Countries, participation is often possible as associated or third‑country partners, although funding rules vary by region and call.

How to Apply: Step by Step

1. Topic Identification

Start on the Funding & Tenders Portal and filter by programme (Horizon Europe), Cluster, type of action (RIA/IA/CSA), and keywords relevant to your technology. Read the full Topic description carefully, paying close attention to:

• Scope (what problems and activities the call addresses)
• Expected outcomes and impacts
• Type of action and TRL range
• Eligibility and any specific participation requirements

A strong fit at this stage is critical; stretching to a Topic that only partially matches your innovation usually leads to weak evaluations.

2. Partner Search and Consortium Building

Once a suitable Topic is identified, the next step is to design your consortium:

• Map the value chain from research to deployment and long‑term impact.
• Identify which capabilities you already have (e.g., core technology, pilot sites) and which are missing (e.g., regulatory expertise, large‑scale integrators, user communities).
• Bring in partners that are essential for credibility: leading research groups, industrial players, public authorities, and end‑users who can validate and adopt the results.

The best consortia are not the largest; they are the ones where each partner has a clearly defined, non‑overlapping role that strengthens the Excellence, Impact, and Implementation of the proposal.

3. Two‑Stage Process (Concept Note → Full Proposal)

Many Horizon Europe calls in the 2025 work programmes use a two‑stage evaluation process:

• Stage 1: A shorter “outline” or concept note that focuses on the core idea, objectives, and high‑level impact. Often, this stage is evaluated blind, meaning reviewers see limited information about applicant identities.
• Stage 2: Only applications that pass Stage 1 are invited to submit a full proposal, with detailed work packages, budget, risk management, and implementation plan.

This makes it essential to articulate a clear, differentiating concept and impact story early on, even before all details are fixed.

4. Submission and Evaluation

Proposals are prepared using standard templates and submitted electronically via the Portal. They are evaluated on three main criteria:

• Excellence: Clarity of objectives, soundness of the concept, and the extent to which it goes beyond the state of the art.
• Impact: Credible pathways to generate scientific, economic, and societal benefits, including concrete exploitation, dissemination, and communication plans.
• Quality and efficiency of the Implementation: Coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, resources, budget, governance, and risk management.

If selected, you enter Grant Agreement Preparation (GAP), where the European Commission and your consortium finalise the technical description, budgets, and administrative details before the project is officially launched.

The Lump Sum Model (2025–2027)

For 2025–2027, lump sum funding is becoming the default model for many Horizon Europe calls. Instead of reimbursing actual costs, the Commission agrees with the consortium on fixed lump sums per work package.

Key implications:

• Simplified financial reporting: you no longer declare actual costs; instead, you report completion of work packages.
• Stronger emphasis on planning: work packages, tasks, and deliverables must be realistic and clearly defined, as incomplete work can affect payment.
• Same overall funding level: the lump sum is still based on estimated eligible costs at proposal stage, but the focus shifts to results rather than cost documentation.

Designing a robust work plan and internal consortium agreements becomes even more important under lump sum rules.

Why Partner with Argentum

Consortium Engineering

Winning Horizon Europe proposals are built on strong, purpose‑designed consortia. Argentum does not simply “join” your project at the writing phase; we help you engineer the consortium from the ground up. We identify the missing links in your value chain – whether it is a specific RTO, a clinical partner, a city authority, or a scale‑up integrator – and help you secure those partners so that your Implementation section is coherent, convincing, and easy for evaluators to trust.

The Impact Architect

Excellence alone is not enough. Horizon Europe projects are selected because they promise tangible societal and economic impact. Our team works with you to scope your TRL, market readiness, IP strategy, and policy relevance, and then translates that into a narrative that speaks the language of Horizon evaluators. We turn technical depth into clear stories about who benefits, how, and on what timescale, strengthening both your Impact and Exploitation plans.

Proof of Excellence

Every claim in a Horizon proposal must be backed by proof: previous pilots, publications, certifications, user commitments, or letters of support. Argentum specialises in building that “evidence spine” for your file. By combining your track record with carefully selected partners and documented proof points, we help you present a proposal that feels robust, realistic, and worthy of multi‑million‑euro investment.

Frequently Asked Questions

How confidential is our application and the shared IP within the consortium?

The EU treats proposals as confidential, and evaluators are bound by strict rules. IP use and ownership are governed by your Consortium Agreement.

How many times can a consortium reapply if a proposal is rejected?

You can usually reapply in later calls, unless a specific call restricts resubmissions. It is essential to address evaluator comments before trying again.

Can we submit multiple Horizon Europe applications for different clusters simultaneously?

Yes, as long as you have capacity to deliver and do not double‑fund the same work. Each proposal must be clearly distinct in scope and content.

Do existing private investors or Venture Capital backing help or hurt our chances of receiving a grant?

They generally help, as they signal market interest and scalability. You must show that EU funding complements, rather than replaces, private investment.

Is the “Lump Sum” model a fixed amount, or can it be adjusted based on actual costs during the project?

It is fixed in the Grant Agreement and not adjusted to actual costs. Payments depend on completing work packages as agreed.

Can a partner be removed or replaced after the grant agreement is signed?

Yes, but it requires a formal amendment and approval. The new consortium must still be able to deliver the project as evaluated.

How does the “Blind Evaluation” process in Stage 1 affect how we present our company’s track record?

You focus on the idea and impact rather than your identity. Avoid self‑identifying details and show credibility in generic, anonymised terms.

If we are outside the EU/Associated countries, can we still receive funding as part of a consortium?

Often yes, but it depends on your country and the call. Some third countries are fully eligible; others may need their own funding unless the call allows support.

How long after selection is the first pre‑financing payment disbursed to the partners?

Typically within a few weeks after the Grant Agreement is signed. Distribution among partners follows what is agreed in your Consortium Agreement.