The Horizon Europe programme

Horizon Europe is the European framework programme for research and innovation for the period 2021-2028. It follows on from the Horizon 2020 programme. It includes the major flagship programmes for European research, such as the European Research Council (ERC)These include the Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions (MSCA), thematic programmes such as Health and Climate, as well as new initiatives such as the European Innovation Council (EIC).

The programme is structured around 3 pillars:

• Science of excellence
• Global issues and European industrial competitiveness
• A more innovative Europe.

Creation of the European Innovation Council (EIC)

The major new feature of the Horizon Europe programme is the creation of the European Innovation Council (EIC). The EIC was created on the model of the ERC in order to improve the European Union's capacity for innovation and risk-taking, and ultimately to enhance European competitiveness.

The EIC will fund projects through two instruments that already existed in Horizon 2020 but in a slightly different form:

• The Pathfinder: Formerly known as the "FET Open and FET Proactive (FET: Future and Emerging Technologies) Instruments", it is dedicated to the initial phases of research in the field of emerging technologies - academic research has a predominant place here;  
• The Accelerator: Formerly known as the "SME Instrument", it is dedicated to the development and marketing phases of projects. It is aimed primarily at businesses, particularly SMEs.

Some changes in the Marie Skodowska Curie Actions and ERC programmes

The titles of the various Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions (MSCA) have been redesigned to make them easier to understand and more intuitive, and a number of changes have been introduced following feedback from Horizon 2020 projects:

• The action formerly entitled "Innovative Training Networks (ITN)" becomes Doctoral Networks These are international doctoral programmes enabling the recruitment of up to 10 doctoral students in partnership with at least 3 European institutions. Another change worth noting is that projects with a score of less than 80% in 2021 will not be eligible for resubmission in 2022.
  Next deadline: 16/11/2021
• The action formerly entitled "Individual Fellowships (IF)" becomes Postdoctoral Fellowships mobility grants: these are individual mobility grants enabling the recruitment of a post-doctoral researcher from abroad for 12 to 24 months. This scheme is limited to researchers with no more than 8 years' post-doctoral professional experience (this scheme was previously open to all researchers with a doctorate, whatever their career level).
  Next deadline: 15/09/2021
  
• The action formerly entitled "Research and Innovation Staff Exchanges (RISE)" simply becomes Staff Exchanges This involves funding research staff mobility between European and non-European and/or academic and non-academic establishments.
  Next deadline: 09/03/2022

As far as the ERC is concerned, the programme has been renewed virtually unchanged. The only notable difference is that from now on ERC Advanced Grant applicants will have an audition as part of the second assessment stage, as was already the case for candidates Starting, Consolidator and Synergy Grants. As a reminder :

• Starting Grant: 2 to 7 years after thesis completion
  Next deadline: October 2021 (to be confirmed)
  
• Consolidator Grant: 7 to 12 years after thesis completion
  Next deadline: 20/04/2021
  
• Advanced Grant: confirmed researchers
  Next deadline: 31/08/2021
  
• Synergy Grant: collaborative projects involving 2 to 4 researchers at any career level
  Next deadline: 2022 (date not yet announced)

Societal challenges become clusters

The societal challenges under Horizon 2020 have become "clusters" in Horizon Europe, and the thematic groupings have been changed. The 6 clusters are as follows

1. Health
2. Culture, creativity and an inclusive society
3. Civil security for society
4. Digital, industry and space
5. Climate, energy and mobility
6. Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and the environment

The types of actions and funding rules remain unchanged: there are Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), funded at 100% of direct costs and 25% of indirect costs, as in Horizon 2020, with the exception of companies, which are only funded at 70% under Innovation Actions.

Where can I find calls for projects? What should I do if I want to prepare a project?

All calls for projects can be found at the European Funding and Tenders Portal.

However, they are not all open yet. Visit International Research and Development Project Engineering Unit at the Maison de la Recherche has all the work programmes of the clusters, which contain the calls for projects planned for 2021 and 2022. Please do not hesitate to contact Mariama Cottrant if you would like more detailed information.

If you would like to respond to one of the calls for projects, please make an appointment with her so that we can work together to define the support arrangements best suited to your needs.

Good to know: the ANR is offering €30,000 in funding for future coordinators of European collaborative projects.

In order to improve the success rate of French research teams in the European Framework Programme, the ANR is offering a specific instrument to help them prepare their applications in good conditions: the European and International Scientific Networking Facility (MRSEI). This instrument is reserved for teams submitting an application to an identified call for projects as coordinator. With a ceiling of €30,000 for a maximum duration of 24 months, it provides funding for missions, meetings and the services of a consultancy firm if required.

• Next deadline: 07/07/2021