The European Union Framework Programmes are Union Programme structures that support multinational research and technology development projects. The Horizon Europe Programme, the ninth of the Framework Programmes, will continue between 2021-2027. The world’s largest budgeted civil R&D programme has open calls in various thematic areas and on different topics. Detailed information on each call can be accessed through the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Then, after finding the appropriate call, what do you need to pay attention to in your applications?
Application Preparation Stage
- Firstly, the Horizon Europe Work Programme should be read carefully to understand the objectives and guidelines of the call for proposals.
- There must be no rush and time should be taken to read the requirements of the call carefully to ensure that the eligibility criteria are met.
- It is important to have a detailed knowledge of EU policy objectives.
- The proposal evaluation criteria should be carefully analysed and time should be taken to understand them.
- In a consortium it is very important to bring together strong partners from different countries with complementary expertise. Partner search tools and networks should be used to find the right project partners.
- It may be useful to analyse past and ongoing EU-funded projects through the CORDIS website to gain insight into how projects are designed and partnerships are built.
- Information Days on the current calls for proposals are organised. These events, which are organised to explain each call, are a great opportunity to learn about the topics open for funding and to ask questions. In cases where live attendance is not possible, recordings of the events can be viewed afterwards.
- Support can be obtained by contacting the National Contact Points (NCP) in the countries. Some NCPs also provide trainings on the preparation of project proposals.
- Submissions should not be made at the last minute to avoid unintentional errors or technical mishaps. The proposal draft may be reopened and amended as often as desired before the call deadline.
Proposal Preparation Stage
- The overall project methodology should be outlined and all elements that may be relevant to the project should be well organised. This will help to harmonise the project with the objectives of the call and the evaluation criteria.
- It should be noted that for a project to be feasible in terms of timing and financial resources, the budget should match the workload in the different work packages.
- The establishment of a timetable for the entire proposal writing process will help ensure that everything is completed by the deadline.
- The guidelines and templates available in the application system on the Financing and Tender Portal should be used in accordance with the funding programme applied for. It should be noted that using the correct template is a condition of acceptability.
- The project idea should not be exaggerated with too many or too ambitious targets, it should be realistic.
- It should not be forgotten that ethical and safety issues should be included.
- An explanation of how gender dimensions, if any, will be addressed should be provided.
- Üye Devletlerden ve İlişkili Ülkelerden kamu kurumları, araştırma kuruluşları veya yüksek öğretim kurumları olan tüzel kişiler için zorunlu olan ayrıntılı Toplumsal Cinsiyet Eşitliği Planı’nın (GEP) sunulması gerekmektedir.
- A detailed Gender Equality Plan (GEP) is required to be submitted, which is mandatory for legal entities from Member States and Associated Countries that are public bodies, research organisations or higher education institutions.
- It should be ensured that the page limit is not exceeded. For example, Research and Innovation Action (RIA) and Innovation Action (IA) have a maximum limit of 45 pages, while Coordination and Support Action (CSA) has a limit of 30 pages.
Preparation of the Impact Section of the Project
- The importance of the challenge that the project aims to address and why it needs to be addressed now should be clearly explained. The arguments provided should clearly show why the problem is important and to whom.
- It should also be explained how the proposed intervention will have a long-term impact on the market, industry, technology, environment or society in general.
- It should be well thought out how the project can contribute to the expected results and impact set out in the Horizon Europe Work Programme.
- It should be explained how to comply with legal obligations. To learn more about legal obligations, check the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement and watch the related video.
- It should be demonstrated how the consortium is well suited to carry out the project. This can be done by highlighting the relevant capacities of the organisations and individuals leading the project, presenting a well-structured project management plan, a clear division of roles, effective dissemination and communication strategies and a risk mitigation approach.
- Proje sonuçlarının etkisini artırmak için etkinlikler planlanmalı ve İletişim, Yaygınlaştırma ve Ticarileştirme kavramları arasındaki farklar iyi öğrenilmelidir.
- Activities should be planned to increase the impact of the project results and the differences between the concepts of Communication, Dissemination and Commercialisation should be well understood.
- The link between the objectives, activities and expected results of the project should be clearly explained.
- The concepts of results, outputs and impact should not be confused with each other.
