Now that the Horizon Europe 2021-2022 Work Programme has been officially launched, Áine Ryan, International Research Funding Manager, provides a general overview of available funding opportunities.
Horizon Europe is the ninth Framework Programme through which the EU will fund research and innovation. It will run for seven years from 2021-2027, and be funded by the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). In total over the seven-year program, €90bn of funding will be available. As with previous Framework Programs e.g. FP7, Horizon 2020, the EC releases funding in two year blocks known as ‘Work Programmes’. On 15 June 2021, the European Commission officially adopted the main Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2021-2022 and published the final version on the Funding & Tenders Portal. This initial Work Programme contains details of call deadlines falling in 2021 and 2022, and there is €14.7bn available via approximately 850 different calls for funding.
Over 850 opportunities to bid for €14.7bn of EU funding in 2021/2022
Yes, you read that correctly – 850 different calls for funding in the next year or so. This is an overwhelming number of opportunities, and it is difficult to know where to start. Over the coming months, the EU funding experts in Edinburgh Research Office will be building a suite of online resources to help you find the right EU funding opportunities for you, your research and your collaborators. We are also building more resources to help you craft your successful EU funding application.
Horizon Europe has three main pillars: Pillar 1 – Excellent Science (bottom up calls for funding, ERC & MSCA fellowships, research infrastructure), Pillar 2 – Global Challenges & European Industrial Competitiveness (challenge led, collaborative, directed calls), Pillar 3 – Innovative Europe (innovation funding). Details of the call requirements and all of the deadlines are listed in the individual Work Programmes, but it can be difficult to easily identify the best opportunity for you and to find the details of the deadlines. We will shortly be publishing a more user-friendly online database of all available funding calls. Subscribe to this blog to be notified when this resource is available.
Funding for fellowships and research infrastructure – Pillar I
If you are looking for funding for an individual fellowship, networks of PhD students or large research infrastructure, take a look at the ERC Work Programme, the MSCA Work Programme and the Research Infrastructures Work Programme. You can view our resources to help you write your ERC and MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship (coming soon) applications on our ‘Craft your application’ pages.
Funding for challenge-led, collaborative projects – Pillar II
The calls for funding under Pillar II are organised into six ‘clusters’. As a starting point, explore the Work Programme that best resonates with your research area. To find out more about the Clusters, sign up to attend one of the European Commission’s Information Days (June 28th – July 9th 2021).
- Cluster 1: Health
- Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
- Cluster 3: Civil Security for Society
- Cluster 4: Digital, Industry and Space
- Cluster 5: Climate, Energy and Mobility
- Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
To apply for funding under Pillar II, you must have collaborators from at least two other member states. Look out for so-called ‘Brokerage’ events to help you find partners, and see below for funding from RSE and Una Europa to build your collaborations.
Funding for innovation – Pillar III
If you are looking for funding for your innovation activities, review the European Innovation Council (EIC) Work Programme, the European Innovation Systems Work Programme and visit the European Institute for Innovation & Technology (EIT) website.
UK access to Horizon Europe
The UK is expected to soon become an associated country to Horizon Europe. The UK will therefore have the same rights and obligations as other countries associated to the Programme. You can read more about UK-based researchers’ access to Horizon Europe in our previous blog: Update on the UK’s participation in Horizon Europe.
Funding available to build EU collaborations
Looking for funding to build your EU research collaborations? Take a look at the funding available from the Scottish Government (deadline 12:00, 12 July 2021) or consider applying for Una Europa Seed Funding (deadline 16:00, 19 July 2021). Some of the Scottish Research Pools also have funding available to build EU partnerships.
Support available from Edinburgh Research Office
You can read more about opportunities for funding from Horizon Europe on our dedicated EU & International Research Funding page (University of Edinburgh access only). Access our proposal development resources for ERC and MSCA applications (coming soon) on the ‘Craft your application’ pages. If you are looking for tips on how to build a Research Network, visit our pages on support for complex bids (University of Edinburgh access only).
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