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EC Horizon Europe 2021-2027

Horizon Europe 2021 - 2027

The entire Horizon Europe programme amounts to about €95.5 billion, of which €5 billion are from the EU’s COVID stimulus fund, the Next Generation EU. In total, this represents a 30% increase over the previous research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020, and makes Horizon Europe the most ambitious research and innovation programme in the world. Over 35% of Horizon Europe will contribute to climate objectives. 

The UK has officially rejoined the EU’s research and innovation funding programme Horizon Europe, ending three years of stand by and provisional procedures for participation and award.

As of 1 January 2024, researchers can apply to the vast majority of the research programme calls, and are able to lead consortia. The government struck a deal with the EU for the country’s access to the scheme in September, and it started paying for its membership to Horizon Europe as the new year started.

The Horizon Europe Regulation and the Specific Programme was published in the Official Journal of the EU with a long delay, on 12 May 2021 when it became law. The Regulation was applied retroactively from 1 January 2021, thus covering the early Horizon Europe calls launched before May.

University of Manchester announcement

Major research funding opportunity – EU Horizon scheme

27 Oct 2023

Researchers are encouraged to get ready to participate in Horizon schemes and funding calls

You may recall the welcome news that the UK government and the European Commission had reached an agreement, and the UK would join the EU’s £85 billion science research programmes, Horizon Europe and Copernicus programmes.

Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research, says: “I am delighted that Association to Horizon Europe has been agreed. This agreement opens up significant research funding and collaboration opportunities. The University has a great track record of success under previous calls to build upon.

“Liz Fay, our EU Funding and Development Manager and our Faculty research services team have the expertise to support the development of your application. I encourage all researchers to find out more about the opportunities for advancing their own research and to consider making an application.”

The UK will officially associate to Horizon Europe as of 1 January 2024 once the relevant protocol is signed. UK organisations and researchers are able to apply for the vast majority of Horizon calls, and UK researchers will be able to lead consortia in the next round of Horizon Europe projects.

This agreement will be a significant boost for the University’s world-leading research and researchers and will give UK companies and research institutions unrivalled opportunities to lead global work to develop new technologies and research projects, in areas from health to AI.

The University has had exceptional success in Horizon Europe throughout the transition phase via the UK government’s guarantee funding scheme. We have had 93 funded projects, 18 European Research Council, 12 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Individual Fellowships, 10 MSCA Doctoral Networks, MSCA Staff Exchanges and funding to maintain dozens of networks.

Researchers are encouraged to build on this track record and to apply to the different Horizon schemes and funding calls that are available. Staff within the Directorate of Research and Business Engagement are available to support researchers with bid applications for 2023 and 2024.

For information on the different deadlines and schemes currently available, please visit: 

Note that the UK government chose not to associate to Euratom Research and Training Programme, and instead will put in place a suite of alternative Research and Development programmes to support the UK’s flourishing fusion sector and strengthen international collaboration in support of the UK Fusion Strategy. The government plans to invest up to £650 million until 2027, subject to business case approvals. Further details will be announced in due course.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has advised us that researchers should continue to plan for involvement in Euratom calls, as many will be covered by a similar funding guarantee to that which covered the transition phase for Horizon Europe. 

For clarification on applying for Euratom calls, please visit:

For further information, contact Liz Fay, EU Funding and Development Manager via email at:

From <https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/news/display/?id=30494>

Horizon Europe Research framework structure

Preliminary structure

Pillar 1 (€25.8b): Excellence Science:

  • ERC (€16.6b)
  • MSCA (€6.8b)
  • Research Infrastructures (€2.4b)

Pillar 2 (€52.7b): Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness (GCEIC) (includes what are currently H2020 SCs):

  • Health
  • Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
  • Civil Security for Society
  • Digital, Industry and Space
  • Climate, Energy and Mobility
  • Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
  • Joint Research Centre

Pillar 3 (€13.5b):

  • European Innovation Council (EIC)
  • European innovation ecosystems
  • European Institute of Innovation and Technology

Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area (€2.1b):

  • Widening participation and spreading excellence
  • Reforming and Enhancing the European R&I system

Work Programme 2023-2024 - Novelties and funding information

The European Commission adopted the main Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2023 and 2024 on 6 December 2022 and published the final versions of the individual Work Programme parts in the 'Reference documents' section of the Funding & Tenders Portal.  Some of the first 2023 calls for proposals, worth more than €13 billion in total, have already been launched. 

There are dedicated Work Programmes for each part of the Horizon Europe Pillars, including the six Clusters and the Horizon Europe Missions.  Separate 2023 Work Programmes are available for the European Research Council (ERC) and the European Innovation Council (EIC) which includes funding opportunities worth €1.6 billion. 

This completes the adoption process for the 2023 Work Programme of Horizon Europe. 

What will be funded under the second biannual Work Programme? 

R&I investments planned under the 2023-24 Work Programme will contribute to the EU reaching its climate goals, increasing energy resilience, and developing core digital technologies.  They will also address targeted actions to support Ukraine, boost economic resilience and contribute to a sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic: 

  • €5.67 billion is dedicated to reaching key climate action objectives, finding innovative solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. €1.67 billion contributes to supporting biodiversity.
  • Over €4.5 billion will support the EU digital transition, including the development of core digital technologies and encouraging their integration in our lives.
  • New actions to support Ukraine include reinforcing the access of researchers from this country to European research infrastructures, continuing support to the health scientists from Ukraine, and supporting the climate-neutral reconstruction of several Ukrainian cities through the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities.
  • In 2023, the main Work Programme will direct investments of more than €1 billion from NextGeneration EU towards Europe's recovery from the economic and social damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Nearly €970 million will be invested to help speed up the clean energy transition, in line with the REPowerEU Plan, and increase Europe's energy independence from unreliable suppliers and volatile fossil fuels.
  • In line with the Strategy for International Cooperation in Research & Innovation that underpins the international dimension of Horizon Europe, the calls for collaborative projects will be characterised by general openness and international cooperation with non-EU partners will be strongly encouraged. In particular, the Commission will continue with the ‘Africa Initiative’, while also introducing the new ‘Mediterranean Initiative', responding to the new R&I agenda developed with the Union for the Mediterranean. 

What is new in the second Horizon Europe Work Programme?

Below is a non-exhaustive list of the main changes from the 2021-22 Work Programme, which are included in the General Annexes.

  • The General Annexes now explicitly state that to participate as a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for EU funding. While this has been the case right from the beginning of Horizon Europe, as previously reported by UKRO, the Work Programme 2021-22 never explicitly mentioned this rule.
  • Participation of Chinese organisations in Innovation Actions (IA) - Under Article 22(6) of the Horizon Europe Regulation, legal entities established in China will no longer be eligible to participate in Horizon Europe Innovation Actions in any capacity.  This includes participation as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties providing in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties, although, exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for well-justified reasons.  This new restriction on participation may be reviewed in the future in accordance with policy developments.
  • Participation of Russian and Belarusian organisations in Horizon Europe projects – the current restrictions on the participation of organisations from both countries, as well as those based in non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine, remain in place.  However, the General Annexes now clarify that such legal entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity even when they are not subject to specific EU restrictive measures.
  • Lump sums – Detailed information is included in the General Annexes about the different page limits for applications submitted to lump sum calls, as well as lump sum-specific evaluation modalities.  This information is consistent with the recently published Commission guidance on applying to lump sum calls. Subscribers are reminded that the 2023-24 Work Programme will include a significantly higher share of topics that use the lump sum approach when compared to the first biannual Work Programme, as reported by UKRO previously. 

Where can I find more information about the Work Programme?

Commission information days

The Commission is already holding a series of information days on the 2023 calls for proposals included in the new Work Programme. These events give prospective applicants and other stakeholders the opportunity to get information about the upcoming calls and ask questions about the main funding instruments and processes of Horizon Europe.

The already confirmed information days can be found on the Commission's dedicated website. In addition to this, the European Innovation Council will hold a dedicated information day on its 2023 calls next week.

UKRO factsheets

Following the publication of the 2023-24 Work Programme, UKRO is in the process of updating its factsheets on the individual Horizon Europe programme parts.

The UK position regarding Horizon Europe is that researchers should continue to apply, we don’t know yet if the government guarantee will be extended to cover successful projects with call deadlines after the end of December 2022 but the government has said that no successfully evaluated project will go unfunded.  The UK still hopes to associate to Horizon Europe.

Liz Fay | EU Funding and Development Manager | The University of Manchester | Crawford House | Oxford Road |Manchester  M13 9PL | Liz.Fay@manchester.ac.uk | European Commission – Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal

Work Programme 2024 and next 2025-2027 - UK Associated Country to Horizon Europe

Horizon Europe and UK participation

The UK’s association to Horizon Europe and Copernicus was officially sealed on 4th December. The association agreement was adopted in the form of a protocol to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement by the EU-UK Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes.

After the announcement on 7 September 2023, UK organisations are able to participate in Horizon Europe calls for proposals on the same terms as institutions from other Associated Countries, including leading consortia and receiving EU funding, from the 2024 Work Programme and onwards. This includes any 2024 calls opening this year.

The UK Government has published a helpful explainer document, which includes clarifications on many issues related to the UK association to both programmes.

(Liz Fay | EU Funding and Development Manager | The University of Manchester | M45 Crawford House | Oxford Road |Manchester  M13 9PL  - Liz.Fay@manchester.ac.uk)

The European Commission adopted the main Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2023 and 2024 on 6 December 2022 and published the final versions of the individual Work Programme parts in the 'Reference documents' section of the Funding & Tenders Portal.   

There are dedicated Work Programmes for each part of the Horizon Europe Pillars, including the six Clusters and the Horizon Europe Missions. Separate Work Programmes are available for the European Research Council (ERC) and the European Innovation Council (EIC) which includes funding opportunities worth €1.6 billion. 

Next steps

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will shortly launch a communications campaign to maximise participation in Horizon Europe and Copernicus from researchers, academics and businesses of all sizes in the UK. This PR push will shine a light on the real-world examples of the benefits Horizon and Copernicus participation can deliver for academics, researchers and businesses, right across the UK – particularly small and medium-sized businesses involved in R&D, which might not have previously considered applying.

Alongside this, in a partnership with the British Academy and other key backers, support will be made available to selected UK researchers applying for Horizon for the first time, through ‘pump priming’ funding, with up to £10,000 available per application. The funding will be available to support those researchers who have not previously had experience, including next generation researchers. The fund will be targeted to ensure it maximises the UK’s involvement in Horizon.

Basic sources of information about the Work Programme

  • Commission information days. The Commission is already holding a series of information days on the 2023 calls for proposals included in the new Work Programme. These events give prospective applicants and other stakeholders the opportunity to get information about the upcoming calls and ask questions about the main funding instruments and processes of Horizon Europe. Confirmed information days can be found on the Commission's dedicated website.  
  • UKRO factsheets on the individual Horizon Europe programme parts are available online. 
  • European Commission – Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal 

For calls under the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2024, successful UK applicants will be funded as beneficiaries by the EC, belonging to an Associated country to the EU.   

The UK benefits from all the main Horizon Europe pillars and schemes as previous Brexit, the UK contributes to the HEU budget, there are not divergences as beneficiaries of a grant, and procedures are the same than other European participants for most schemes, with exceptions.  

Improvements for accessibility, submissions, and processes on ERC, MSCA and Clusters, and other schemes, and collaboration with other European institutions. 

Submissions as per beneficiary rules coordination or participation, with restrictions only to eligibility to some specific schemes for EU members only. 

Relevant documentation and links: 

Work Programme 2023 – UK Associated partner: Horizon Europe Guarantee funding for awards from Horizon Europe. (Update 15/09/2023)

(This information is relevant during the lifetime of any award, but it should not be of interest in submissions to the Commission after the last 2023 deadline, and this document will be updated then in consequence) 

UK applicants to calls under the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023 should continue to apply to Horizon Europe calls as beneficiaries, and, if successful, they will continue to be funded as an Associated Partner under the UK Guarantee scheme not signing the EU Grant Agreement.  Association will not cover already awarded Horizon Europe projects with funding from the guarantee. 

The UK Government has announced in November 2021 a new financial safety net mechanism that aims to provide certainty for successful Horizon Europe applicants, as the association delays continue: The Guarantee funding scheme (GF). Under this mechanism, successful UK applicants for Horizon Europe grant awards will be guaranteed funding regardless of the outcome of the UK’s efforts to associate to Horizon Europe.  

For further details, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/horizon-europe-guarantee-open-letter-to-the-uk-research-and-development-sector 

UK participants need to access the UKRI guarantee funding. Delays with association could cause problems with projects which are currently in the grant preparation stage of the process. Processes: 

  1.  Applications/proposals: The advice going forward is for UK participants to continue to apply for Horizon Europe projects as beneficiaries under current ‘transitional measures’ - these measures consider the UK to be an associated country for the purposes of submitting proposals but not for signing grant agreements or receiving EU funds.   
  2. Awards: Those participating in a Horizon Europe award will follow a specific transitional measures process, after being informed of the award research officers will advise on this matter, on the Grant Preparation stage. Those involved should contact the RSS asap. 

Associated Partner Role: UK institutions will need to change their role on their projects to that of an Associated Partner – this should happen during grant preparation. UK institutions should nominate a beneficiary listed on their project in a MS or AC and formally link with them under an Associated Partner agreement. The University of Manchester PIs should never agree to the AP role without confirmation from UKRI funding their project. 

As an Associated Partner, the University would not sign the grant agreement (only from third countries providing own funding) but all rights to any results/IP generated by Manchester’s PIs will be retain in the same way as a beneficiary.  

ERC/MSCA projects: Only institutions in Member States and Associated Countries can host ERC and MSCA fellowships. There is a risk that successful UK ERC applicants may choose to take their project to a MS/AC rather than refuse the ERC award and take the UKRI’s replacement funding – this is allowable since ERC awards are portable. UK ERC awardees can apply to the Guarantee funding.  

Affiliated Entities (previously H2020 Linked Third Parties): Only institutions in Member States/Associated Countries (MS/AC) can take on the role of, or engage, an Affiliated Entity in Horizon Europe. All projects which include University hospitals must make sure the hospitals are registered on the project as a separate beneficiary and not linked to the University - this will be the case until the UK associates to the programme.  

More practical insights about the GF: 

  • The Guarantee Fund is administrated through the current UKRI submission tool, calls will be open on the Je-S where information should be added in advance before formally submitting the application.  
  • There will be no further evaluation, but UKRI will check that budget and tasks match the EU proposal for UK beneficiaries. 
  • The Je-S session will be ‘light touch’: uploading of documents already submitted to the Commission and a signed GA – it is not a standard Je-S submission. 
  • Research Support needs to be quick to submit our Je-S data as soon as the portal opens for each call to speed the process of award from the GF. 
  • UKRI need a finalised (signed by the Coordinator and the Commission) Grant Agreement to start their awarding process (from the project coordinator since access to the Portal as an Associated Partner is not guarantee), listing Manchester as an Associated Partner before formally awarding funding. 
  • The GA signature, for the Je-s award date purposes, is the date when the Coordinator and the Commission sign the GA.  
  • There will be a 30–90-day award processing period for UKRI, this will begin once submitting details. 
  • The later the start date can be for the project (on the EU side) then the better this is for aligning the dates for UKRI funds. 
  • Funding under the UKRI agreement will be the same as for the EU project – 100% funding including 25% overheads. 
  • UKRI pay in arrears, there is no advance payment as there is for EU projects. The University can commit to cover costs of projects only following signature of a legal agreement and confirmation of a start date. 
  • Project financial reporting to UKRI only, not to the Commission, other project reporting will need to be via UKRI and the EC.

Please visit the UUK FAQs page  for more information on UK participation in Horizon Europe.  

Pioneer - Opportunities Beyond Horizon Europe  

On 6th April 2023 the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published a prospectus outlining the longer-term plan B domestic alternative ('Pioneer') schemes for international collaboration in case association to Horizon Europe is no longer possible.   

This scheme is under review from the announcement date of the UK Association to the Horizon Europe. This space will be amended in due course.  

The Pioneer Prospectus sets out the proposals that would inform the scheme, which is being developed with input from researchers, and businesses across the UK. 

4 main themes to complement existing R&D investments:  

  • Pioneer Talent, which would enhance the UK’s investment in discovery research as well as the UK’s already strong talent offer. 
  • Pioneer Global, which would complement and enhance partners’ existing international partnerships. 
  • Pioneer Innovation, which would increase UK support to business-led innovation across sectors, technologies, and UK regions. 

Links

Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society (Cluster 2) 2025

Horizon Europe Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society (Cluster 2) 2025 calls update: UK NCP advised that the calls and topics will officially be published in April/May, with deadline around September 2025 most likely. Updates will follow in due course, probably early 2025.

The funding basis are the usual RIA, IA, or CSA with 100% award for Universities (including 25% indirect costs). UKRI welcomes UK applicants to participate.  

UKRO provides with further information. (Accessing UKRO webpages requires registration, staff from the University of Manchester can register to UKRO; the document can be available from your research office). 

The information below if for reference only, Work Programme 2024 is closed after vthe last deadline 07/02/2024.

The three destinantions:

  • Innovative Research on Democracy and Governance 
  • Innovative Research on the European Cultural Heritage and the Cultural and Creative Industries
  • Innovative Research on Social and Economic Transformations 

Democracy and Governance 

  • Protest politics and cultures of opposition in democracy HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-01. Proposals should analyse further the shift towards politics of collective action, and their impact on European democracies, including their role in resisting the rise of authoritarian tendencies and in taking down authoritarian regimes. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Multilevel governance in times of digital and climate transitions HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-02. Proposals should analyse how different levels of government in the EU work in developing and implementing policy on the digital and climate transitions. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • What is the long-term impact of rule of law and other European values on socio-economic outcomes? HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-03. Proposals should explore changing valuation of public/common goods depending on different network topologies, also investigate historical developments to provide better understanding of present situation and present challenges. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • The interrelation between social, cultural and political identities, as well as the sense of belonging, and democracies HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-04. Proposals should help further investigate the way that democracy and its key tenets such as political representation, participation or trust are interrelated to social, cultural, and political identities and a sense of belonging and identification with different communities. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Gender-roles in extremist movements and their impact on democracy HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-05. Building on the evidence-based insights, proposals should develop innovative methods, policy approaches and tools for policymakers and practitioners to address the underlying roots of violent, discriminatory and illiberal political discourse and actions in both public and online spaces. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Computational Social Science approaches in research on democracy HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-06. Proposals may choose whichever research focus, in the area of democracy, deemed relevant to exploit the potential of CCS. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Digital democracy HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-07. Proposals should investigate - building on existing literature and data - the most recent developments, especially as regards the pandemic-induced innovative e-democracy and e-participation solutions at all levels of governance (international, EU, national, regional, local). Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Culture, the arts and cultural spaces for democratic participation and political expression, online and offline HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-08. Proposals are expected to investigate cultural activity and engagement, online and offline, as political expression, civic participation and political engagement, historically, in contemporary society, and to provide forecasts for the future. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • The role and functioning of public administrations in democratic systems HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-09. This area of research intends to investigate how European Union governments are approaching public administration and governance reform i.e. what areas they strategically invest in, what challenges they encounter, what support (expertise, finance) they capitalise on, and how they generally approach transforming their government administrations. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Political participation in multilingual spaces HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-10. Proposals should consider outcomes from the Conference on the Future of Europe. They should explore how deliberations in multilingual settings can be best mediated, by design or through technological assistance. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Future scenarios and young visions for European democracy 2040 HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-11. In light of the current discourse about the need to rethink and redesign virtual and real public spaces and civic engagement, this research will also investigate the future of democracy and its instruments, and will also explore the views of political institutions. Projects of up to €4m. RIA.
  • Testing and implementation of research results fostering democracy and governance HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-12. Proposals have to credibly identify a targeted democracy and/or governance related issue that can be addressed by implementing existing research and innovation results. Projects of up to €3m. CSA.

Transformations (innovative research on social and economic transformations)

  • Policy recommendations from socio-economic impacts of loneliness in Europe HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-01. Capitalising on available data to identify commonly agreed socio-economic and geographical risk factors,, drivers and trends of loneliness within and across Member States including of specific populations, as well as gender and intersecting aspects and provide recommendations. Work is expected to nurture the public debate on loneliness and in particular on the stigma that is associated to it. Projects of up to €3m. CSA.
  • Strengthen economic fairness and resilience of active labour market policies and address high unemployment HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-02. More research is needed to survey the different types of active labour market policies enacted by the Member States, especially in the area of skills development during economic downturns, and their effects on people facing economic challenges. Proposals should focus on the ways in which active labour market policies can be strengthened to provide economic fairness and resilience. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Minimise costs and maximise benefits of job creation and job destruction HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-03. Need to develop effective policies to minimise costs and maximise benefit. The topic should identify the best ways to train refugees, immigrants, women, older and younger people, people affected by disabilities. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Social services: economic and social returns and value added HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-04. The proposals should consider social services in a broad manner, including both universal social services of general interest such as healthcare, education, as well as other social services childcare, employment services, long-term care and social inclusion services for persons at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Proposals should focus on estimating the impacts from a life course perspective. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Social dialogue in the new world of work HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-05. Research activities should focus on the interplay between non-standard forms of work (temporary employment; temporary agency work, part-time work, platform work, and other forms of non-standard employment) and social dialogue. Alternately, they can investigate legislative barriers prohibiting social partners from engaging in dialogue, such as competition law in the case of self-employed workers. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Beyond the horizon. A human-friendly deployment of artificial intelligence and related technologies HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-06. In-depth analysis of successful existing deployment of AI; analysis of future and long term potential. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Methodologies for teamworking of researchers – reinforcing transversal collaborative skills, behavioural and implementation sciences HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-07. Proposals under this topic should combine communication, management and collaborative skills with behavioural sciences and implementation sciences for the lifelong training of researchers in ‘transferrable’ skills. Projects of up to €3m. CSA.
  • Arts and cultural awareness and expression in education and training HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-08. Proposals should support policymakers and professional development providers in identifying effective actions and gaps in their systems, and better understanding how their investments could be improved. Proposals should include a lifelong learning perspective. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • The role of social economy in addressing social exclusion, providing quality jobs and greater sustainability HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-09. Comprehensive analysis of the extent to which social economy contributes to countering social exclusion in the EU, in Associated Countries and in Third Countries, what services it provides, and compare efficiency, cost and quality aspects of services provided by the social economy with those of other providers. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Effective education and labour market transitions of young people HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-10. Proposals should use quantitative and qualitative methods to analyse transitions between educational levels (including between general education and vocational training) and/or between education/training and the labour market and improve the evidence base for policy decisions by addressing several interrelated research questions. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.
  • Assessing and strengthening the complementarity between new technologies and human skills HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-11. Research activities carried out under this topic include the development of criteria to assess the complementarity of specific new technologies with human skills and vice versa. Projects of up to €3m. RIA.

Heritage and cultural and creative industries 

  • New European Bauhaus-innovative solutions for greener and fairer ways of life through arts and culture, architecture and design for all. HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01-01. Proposals should test, demonstrate and refine innovative solutions to achieve strategic investments in cultural heritage and the CCIs in the spirit of the New European Bauhaus initiative and search for links with the ESFRI Research Infrastructures in the Social and Cultural Innovation. Projects of up to €3m. IA.
  • Cultural and creative industries for a sustainable climate transition. HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01-02. Proposals should provide for testing and refining such model(s) through small scale pilot trials under real world conditions. These pilot trials should verify the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the action(s), as well as the efficacy. Proposals should choose a suitable set of CCI sector(s), or/and cross-sectoral issues. Projects of up to €3m. IA.
  • Leverage the digital transition for competitive European cultural and creative industries. HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01-03. Proposals should provide for devising effective and cost-efficient measures to support CCIs to embrace and make full use of digital technologies for competitiveness and sustainability. Projects of up to €3m. IA.
  • Europe's cultural heritage and arts -promoting own values at home and abroad. HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01-04. The objective of this innovation proposal is to test existing practices and policies that enable arts and culture to promote European values and identities outside Europe, allowing people to experience European arts, culture and traditions both in their original environments and settings and by visiting the rich European cultural landscapes. Projects of up to €3m. IA.
  • Strategies to strengthen the European linguistic capital in a globalised world. HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01-05. Research should address tensions between globalisation and the preservation of European identities as expressed by languages, paying attention to policies and practices regarding the use of national and ‘international’ languages and their place in each country’s cultural, scientific, academic, social, political and economic life. Projects of up to €3m. RIA. 

 

ERC- European Research Council 2023 deadlines

"To encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding and to support investigator-driven frontier research across all fields, on the basis of scientific excellence." 

The ERC promotes bottom-up, curiosity-driven frontier research and offers the opportunity to boost the careers of excellent researchers from anywhere in the world. 

Factsheets provided by UKRO are available on its website, UKRO is the National Contact Point for the UK. Deadlines of current and future calls are and will be included in the EC calls, Key calls, and the highlights pages. 

Basically the ERC funds research grants to individuals, a sort of ‘fellowship,  focusing on projects for an individual (hosted by an EU or associated country institution) of any nationality who could be at three different specific required levels of career development (early, consolidating, or professorial), who will receive a requested budget (from €1.5m to €2.5m plus additional optional allowances) including indirect costs for the host institution, to manage a project of her/his choice including the team(s) or her/his choice, in which she/he is the primary responsible and which will consolidate a career status. The main criteria: scientific excellence.

The ERC research programme runs in an annual basis, a reiterative programme with call deadlines in similar dates every year. The ERC Work Programme 2023 has been published and it is available online, the document includes some changes in relation to re-submissions, eligibility reference dates for Starting and Consolidator grants, synergy grants conditions, proof of concept grant evaluation elements, and some admisibility criteria.

ERC basic schemes and conditions

 

STG

Starting Grants

up to €1.5 Million for 5 years

+ up to €1 Million

 

COG

Consolidator Grants

up to €2 Million for 5 years

+ up to €1 Million

 

 

ADG

Advanced Grants

up to €2.5 Million for 5 years

+ up to €1 Million

 

 

SYN

Synergy Grants

up to €10m for 6 years

+ up to €4 Million

15/10/2024

14/01/2025

28/08/2025

06/11/2025

 

> 2 and ≤ 7 years prior to 1 January 2023. Cut-off dates: PhD awarded from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020 (inclusive)

 

 

> 7 and ≤ 12 years prior to 1 January 2023. Cut-off dates: PhD awarded from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2015 (inclusive)

 

10 years' track-record

No specific criteria

 

 

early achievement track-record or a ten-year track-record

outstanding intrinsic synergetic effect

 

Proof of Concept Grants

Lump sum €150k/18 months. Deadlines: 17/09/2024, 13/03/2025, 18/09/2025

 

The maximum amount of the grants is reduced pro rata temporis depending on the project duration (except the Proof of Concept grants which awards lump sums).

Additional funding up to €1m (€4m for Synergy grants) can be requested to cover the following eligible costs when these are necessary to carry out the proposed work: "start-up" costs for PIs moving to the EU or an AC from elsewhere as a consequence of receiving the ERC grant and/or the purchase of major equipment and/or access to large facilities and/or other major experimental and field work costs, excluding personnel costs.

The ERC will expect total commitment from the project/awardee's host institution, complying with terms and conditions of the grants and allowing for an independent project providing institutional support to the project and awardee. Beneficiaries will receive 25% indirect costs from projects awarded. 

All the ERC schemes are highly regarded by The University of Manchester.

ERC schemes

  • ERC Starting Grant (SoG). Support for excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they are starting their own independent research team or programme. Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their scientific proposal.
  • ERC Consolidator Grant (CoG). Support for excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme.
  • Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their scientific proposal.
  • ERC Advance Grant (AoG). Support for excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they are already established research leaders with a recognised track record of research achievements. Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their scientific proposal.
  • ERC Synergy Grant (SyG). A group of two to maximum four Principal Investigators (PIs); 'bottom-up' research without predetermined priorities. Applications must demonstrate that the proposed research cannot be carried out by a single PI working alone.
  • ERC Proof of Concept Grant (PoC). All Principal Investigators in an ERC frontier research project are eligible to participate and apply for an ERC Proof of Concept Grant. The Principal Investigator must be able to demonstrate the relation between the idea to be taken to proof of concept and the ERC frontier research project (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced or Synergy) in question.

Links to relevant information

  • ERC- European Research Council main page.
  • Previous awards: available on the ERC website. Also can be provided by RSS when intention of submission is expressed.
  • Events: proposal writing including individuals successful experiences are available during any year previous deadlines for submissions from UKRO (see below).
  • Mission: what the basic principles of the ERC are.
  • ERC newsletter: a good source of updated information. You can subscribe to email updates by submitting your email address at the bottom of the ERC newsletters page.
  • Participant portal: past, present and forthcoming calls. Applicants can only apply from the call-portal. All the updated information is provided on the participant portal. Updates can be uploaded at any time.
  • Support in the UK: the UK Research Office for H2020, UKRO, organising events together with the Commission to inform prospective applicants. UKRO is the National Contact Point for UK on ERC grants; any query on ERC grants can be addressed directly to the Office. UKRO provides online guidance documents; its factsheets are a good introduction to the schemes.
  • Support from the Faculty of Humanities: Research Support Staff will address any request for information in the first place.

MSCA - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Work Programme 2023/2024

The portal reference documents (reference documents page>Work Programmes>2023-2024>2. Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions) website is updated with the official documents. The MSCA website it is other source of information for applicants.

The MSCA Work Programmes 2023-2024 have confirmed call deadlines. The participant portal websites can be accessed to find updates on the schemes.

UKRI encourages UK individuals to apply but please check with your RS team about suitability for submissions, the Horizon Europe pages including notes about and links to the UKRI Guarantee Funding. 

UKRO and the MSCA website provide further support for prospective applicants.

UKRI encourages UK applicants to apply. Current deadlines:

  • HORIZON-MSCA-2024-COFUND. Deadline 6 February 2025.
  • HORIZON-MSCA-2024-SE (Staff Exchanges). Deadline 5 March 2025.
  • HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF (Postdoctoral Fellowships). Deadline 11 September 2024.
  • HORIZON-MSCA-2024-DN (Doctoral Networks). Deadline 27 November 2024.
  • HORIZON-MSCA-2023-CITIZENS (MSCA NIGHT). Deadline 25 October 2023.
  • HORIZON-MSCA-2024-INCO-01-01(International Cooperation). CSA. Deadline 4 September 2024.
  • HORIZON-MSCA-2024-RR-01-01 (Researchers at Risk). Deadline 14 January 2025.

Relevant links

Links to info related to the UK Associated Country agreement with the EC re Horizon Europe Sep 2023

Links to UK/EU Brexit agreement:

Links for ERC proposals:

Link to MSCA

Link to Cluster 2