Guide #4

Horizon
Europe
General Guide

How to draft
the perfect
proposal

Building strong
partnerships

info@catalyze-group.com | +31 20 723 44 00 | www.catalyze-group.com

ABOUT HORIZON EUROPE

Introduction
THE PROGRAMME
What is the Horizon
Europe Programme?
In 2021, the Horizon Europe programme
succeeds the Horizon 2020 programme.
It commences with a budget of € 95.5
billion to invest in innovative projects.
The aim is to invest in a fair and
prosperous future for people and planet
based on European Values.
To achieve this, Horizon Europe will
strengthen the connection between
scientific and technological innovation,
while tackling key societal challenges
set out in the Sustainable Development
Goals.
SPOTLIGHT
Horizon Project
Spotlight: EHRA-PATHS
EHRA-PATHS was awarded €6 million
under the Horizon 2020 programme
towards creating well founded,
innovative systematic care pathways to
tackle multimorbidity in elderly AF
patients.
The large public-private consortium is
comprised of 14 partners and is
coordinated by the European Society of
Cardiology.

The goal is to increase European Read more about EHRA-PATHS on

leadership in innovation and Page 17
entrepreneurship, through world-class
research. Additionally, it removes
barriers to development and enables
public and private sectors to work
together in delivering innovations.
Table of
contents
1. Horizon Europe – 3 Pillars 4

- Pillar 1: Excellent Science 5

- Pillar 2: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness 6

- Pillar 3: Innovative Europe 7

2. Identifying the Correct Call 8

3. Reading the Call Carefully 10

4. A Winning Consortium 12

5. Writing a High-Quality Proposal 14

6. Your funding is granted! What’s next? 16

7. Case study: EHRA-PATHS 17

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HORIZON EUROPE

Focus areas
Horizon Europe is focused on everyone contributing to scientific excellence and has a
broad range of focus areas, divided across 3 pillars: Excellent Science, Global
Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, and Innovative Europe. Each
pillar has a specific set of grants and tenders connected to it. This guide will provide a
brief overview of each pillar.
 1 2 3 4 5 6

PILLAR 1
The Excellent Science pillar consists of
three main calls
“Reinforcing & extending the excellence of the Union’s science base”

• European Research Council (ERC)

Funding frontier research designed and driven by the best
researchers in Europe. The 2021 work programme is now open with
a total budget of €1.9 billion. The ERC grants are intended to fund
excellent science and are open for researchers at different career
stages; ERC Starting Grant and Consolidator Grant are already
closed for 2021 but will come back in 2022. ERC Advanced Grant,
Proof of Concept and Synergy Grant will open later this year.
Tentative deadlines for 2022 have been announced.

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

The programme funds individual fellowships and supports mobility
of researchers internationally. Preliminary deadlines, for 2021 and
2022, are available for the MSCA Doctoral Networks, Postdoctoral
Fellowship, Staff Exchange, COFUND, and MSCA and Citizens
(European Researchers’ Night) grants.

• Research Infrastructure (RI)

Funding new world-class research infrastructures. The work
programme, which will be released in Spring 2021, will support
research communities to conduct research and foster
innovation in their field.

PILLAR 2
Global Challenges &
European Industrial
Competitiveness
“Boosting key technologies and solutions
underpinning EU policies & Sustainable
Development Goals”
Pillar 2 includes six clusters with their own
area of intervention and their own specific
funding calls, plus the non-nuclear direct
actions of the Joint Research Centre.
1. Health. Areas of intervention: health
throughout the life course; Non-
communicable and rare diseases;
Tools, technologies and digital
solutions for health and care, including
personalised medicine; Environmental
and social health determinants;
Infectious diseases, including poverty-
related and neglected disease; Health
care systems.
2. Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive
Society. Areas of intervention:
Democracy and Governance; Social
and economic transformations;
Culture, cultural heritage and
creativity.
3. Civil Security for society. Areas of
intervention: Disaster-resilient
societies; Protection and Security;
Cybersecurity.
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4. Digital, Industry and Space. Areas of
intervention: Manufacturing
technologies; Advanced materials;
Next generation internet; Circular
industries; Space, including Earth
Observation; Emerging enabling
technologies; Key digital technologies,
including quantum technologies;
Artificial Intelligence and robotics;
Advanced computing and Big Data
Low-carbon and clean industry;
Emerging enabling technologies.
5. Climate, Energy and Mobility. Areas
of intervention: Climate science and
solutions; Energy systems and grids;
Communities and cities; Industrial
competitiveness in transport; Smart
mobility; Energy supply; Buildings and
industrial facilities in energy transition;
Clean, safe and accessible transport
and mobility; Energy storage.
6. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural
Resources, Agriculture and
Environment. Areas of intervention:
Environmental observation;
Agriculture, forestry and rural areas;
Circular systems; Food systems;
Biodiversity and natural resources;
Seas, oceans and inland waters; Bio-
based innovation systems in the EU;
Bioeconomy.
7. Joint Research Centre. Supporting
policymakers, both European and
national, with independent scientific
evidence and support.

PILLAR 3
Innovative Europe pillar
“Stimulating market-creating
breakthroughs and ecosystems
conducive to innovation”.
The third pillar consists of three
different entities:
• European Innovation Council (EIC)
Focus on market-creating innovation
and SME growth. The EIC work
programme has been published, and
includes the EIC Pathfinder, EIC
Transition and EIC Accelerator. Each
EIC call has its own deadlines in 2021.
EIC has a total budget of €10 billion
for the period of 2021-2027.
• European Innovation Ecosystems
Connecting with regional and national
actors to improve the overall
innovation ecosystem across Europe.
Ecosystems should become more
connected and efficient. The work
programme will be released in Spring
2021.
• European Institute of Innovation
and Technology (EIT)
Focusing on integrating research,
higher education, business and
entrepreneurship. EIT is an
independent EU body that supports
entrepreneurial talent and innovative
ideas through specific calls for
proposals.
1 2 3 4 5 6
HORIZONTAL FOCUS
Widening Participation
and Strengthening the
European Research Area
“Optimising strengths & potential for a
more innovative Europe ”
• Widening Participation and Spreading
Excellence
Encouraging teaming & twinning,
cooperation in science and technology
(COST), ERA chairs continue to bring
excellence to institutions in Widening
countries with potential for research
excellence, support to NCPs, brain
circulation and excellence initiatives. It
includes two new additions, the Hop On
Facility and the Excellence Hubs.
• Reforming and enhancing the
European R&I system
Building scientific evidence & foresight,
continuation of the Horizon Policy
Support Facility, promoting Open
Science, attractive researcher careers,
citizen science, Responsible Research
& Innovation, and gender equality
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IDENTIFYING THE CORRECT CALL

The Correct Call

It all starts with choosing the correct call.
The chance of getting funding increases
when applying for grants best suited for Get funding updates
your research. But how do you make sure with Catalyze Alerts
it’s the right fit? Follow the tips below:
Staying up-to-date is important, but
takes a lot of time. With Catalyze
CRITERIA
Alerts you will receive all relevant
Eligibility Criteria updates on upcoming funds, including
The first question is: “Am I eligible?”. under Horizon Europe.
Horizon Europe calls have different
Our experts will notify you when new
types of calls, each with varying
grant information, deadlines or
requirements.
requirements are available. So you
For Research Innovation Action (RIA), will have plenty of time to prepare
Innovation Action and CSA’s your Horizon Europe application.
(Coordination and support actions), all
You can subscribe to Catalyze Alerts
European legal entities are eligible to
today via catalyze-group.com/alerts
apply. For these calls, an academic
partner is required to lead.
 1 2 3 4 5 6

CRITERIA
Financial Considerations
In order to determine whether your Knowing the answer to these questions
project fits the grant, consider the helps you to select the right grant. But
following questions : keep in mind, it can still be a very
complex process, influenced by many
Is the funding offer what you are
factors – both internal and external to
looking for?
your research.
Is the budget sufficient to fund your
project?
Next step: reading the call
Are you able to co-finance the text the right way
amount of money required for this
project, and are you allowed to co-
finance this in-kind?

What are the eligible costs for the

grant?

Can you pay salaries, get equipment

and consumables from the grant?

Are your overheads eligible for this

specific funding opportunity?

catalyze-group.com

GET IN TOUCH
Looking for more information?
Our experts have extensive experience in life sciences, biomedical, agricultural, food
and bioeconomy applications and are ready to help you out with every question.

info@catalyze-group.com +31 20 723 44 00 catalyze-group.com

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READING THE CALL CAREFULLY

Reading Carefully
READING IS KEY
‘Reading’ increases your
chances of getting funded
A call text describes all the information that needs to
be included in your perfect proposal. Reading it
properly increases your chances of getting funded. A
typical RIA/CSA/IA call is carefully built in the same
structure throughout the entire Work Programme.
These are the components you’ll find:

The Title is the first hint of the topic. Ask yourself:

‘does it provide information about which societal
challenge or goals my project falls under? Does
the title provide me with information on the scope
of the call?’

The call text starts with the Specific Challenge

which provides more information on why the
European Commission thinks these research
proposals are relevant, what problems are present
in this field of research, and which challenges are
to be solved by this tender.

Content continues on next page

 1 2 3 4 5 6

The Scope gives information on how the European

Committee would see this problem be solved, which
topics should be addressed, or what type of activities
should be performed. Also described in the scope is
information about what consortium members should be
included or if a collaboration should be built with
specific organizations or previously funded projects.

The Expected Impact describes the envisioned results

from the project once executed. It provides a more
defined description, which is to the point and more
specific compared to the scope description.

The Type of Call provides information on what

conditions and funding rules apply to this specific
tender. For example, there is a difference in co-finance
requirements and consortium requirements between
RIA, IA and CSA.

Writing a high-quality proposal takes time. And so does choosing the right call, reading a
call text and building a consortium. But keep in mind, the rewards are high. They will take
your projects to the next level. Get funding, make impact!

BUILDING STRONG PARTNERSHIPS
A winning consortium
A strong, complementary, and often large multi-partner consortium that addresses all
ambitious objectives is key for a winning proposal. This is how you build one:
1.
Start on time
Most important: start on time! Getting the
right consortium partners on board is a
lengthy and challenging process.
Establishing a consortium is one thing
but managing all partners during the
preparation phase and aligning their
interests into one coherent project plan
is more tricky.
2.
Envision your ideal
partners
A strong consortium has the following
characteristics:
• Complementary. Each partner should
have a unique role and bring in a
special, required expertise or
technology.
1 2 3 4 5 6
• Combine different roles and expertise
to ensure you will be able to deliver
the work and avoid redundancy.
• Interdisciplinary. To tackle
outstanding challenges,
collaborations need to connect
viewpoints and knowledge. Going
beyond a single discipline and
combining partners from various
disciplines is essential.
• Balanced. Think about aspects like
geographical spread of the partners
and balance between profit and non-
profit partners. Pay attention to the
gender balance of key investigators
involved.
• Excellent. A strong consortium brings
together the brightest minds in their
various key disciplines. Therefore,
identify the true key opinion leaders
(KOLs) within your field or topics.

3.
Establish a core
consortium with high
excellence
Key Steps:
• Build a strong consortium of partners
with complementary expertise that
are renowned KOLs within a specific
field and establish a core consortium
with them. This is more pragmatic
compared to bringing in a large
consortium on your own.
• Ensure that all expertise is covered in
the consortium to perform the
activities, including patient and end-
user associations.
• Build consortia that include relevant
geographical areas in the EU.
• Have an established expert on board
to help pull in other excellent parties
and boost your profile.
1 2 3 4 5 6
4.
Develop your
exceptional plan
Together with this core consortium you
want to further draft the scope, main
objectives and rough outline of the
project.
In order to maintain a clear focus of your
project, a basic plan and consensus
need to be generated. This plan will be
your means to bring on board the other
key players needed to strengthen your
project.
5.
Bring in your final
partners
Start by building the rest of the
consortium from this core, having a clear
vision on this project. Use your network
to approach key players in establishing
your consortium.

WRITE A HIGH-QUALITY PROPOSAL
High-Quality Proposal
You and your consortium partners are now ready to write a high-quality proposal. With these
tips you will successfully make it to the finish line:
1.
Writing clearly and
concisely
How do you write down exactly what
you mean? First, start each paragraph
with the conclusion of that idea. Second,
following this conclusion, focus on
writing sentences that support the
conclusion only. Then apply the same
steps to the rest of the proposal to
ensure concise writing.
2.
Minimize the time the
reviewer spends on
reading
Take into account that reviewers must
go through a large number of proposals.
Get straight to the point.
1 2 3 4 5 6
For example, it is not always necessary
to explain a medical problem in detail if
everybody already knows that a given
disease is deadly. Knowing what to cut
out and what to elaborate on is vital.
3.
Address the topic and
the aims of the scope
Nobody gives away free money just for
the fun of it. Everyone providing a
subsidy has some goal with it, and if you
want that money, you better make sure
your proposal addresses that goal. No
matter how innovative your idea is, and
how beneficial it may be, if it does not
match with the scope of the subsidy
tender, you will receive that dreaded
rejection letter.
 1 2 3 4 5 6

4.
Submit on time
The application process can become
overwhelming. Efforts to align the
proposed work plan may need
additional time.

Also, additional documentation may be

needed in the project application portal.
As an applicant it is easy to
underestimate the time needed for the
portal preparation and project
submission.

Keep in mind that on the day of the

deadline, portals are often overloaded
with applications resulting in longer
uploads.

The best way to avoid missing your

deadline is to submit at least 48 hours
before the deadline.

SPOTLIGHT
Prof. Hein Heidbuchel
Project Leader, EHRA-PATHS

“We were very pleased with the way Catalyze helped in structuring the grant proposal,
from content to layout and the design of nice figures, which really helped to get the project
message across”
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FUNDING GRANTED! WHAT’S NEXT?

What’s next?
CONGRATULATIONS
Grant agreement phase
Congratulations! You have been awarded a Horizon Europe grant. Before
you can start to work on the project you have to finish the last preparation
steps of the so-called ‘grant agreement phase’.

This phase must be finished within a strict timeframe set out by the
European Commission (EC). During the grant agreement phase, you must
provide necessary documentation and finish the grant agreement
document.

The grant agreement consists of the formal agreements between the EC

and the project consortium, the timeline and budget of the project and the
description of the action.

GET IN TOUCH
Want to take your proposal to the next level?
Get in touch with one of our consultants. They are ready to help you out with every
question.

info@catalyze-group.com +31 20 723 44 00 catalyze-group.com

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SUCCESS STORIES

Case Study
EHRA-PATHS
Optimizing atrial fibrillation disease management
The EHRA-PATHS project, is led by the European Society of Cardiology and its
constituent the European Heart Rhythm Association, aims to address
multimorbidity in elderly atrial fibrillation patients through establishing
interdisciplinary patient-centered, systematic care pathways. EHRA-PATHS will
lead to transformative improvements in the clinical practice of atrial fibrillation
toward holistic, inclusive and personalized treatment strategies.

This will lead to an estimated reduction of €12-18 billion in the yearly European
healthcare burden of multimorbid, elderly AF patients. The multidisciplinary
team includes 12 renowned clinics and/or research centers in 10 European
countries. Catalyze is a partner in the project where we are delivering the
Project Management work package.

Read more about this case on our website

Prof. Hein Heidbuchel –

Project Leader, EHRA-PATHS

“The partnership with Catalyze was highly effective: without the partnership with them, we
would not have succeeded. We could not do this on our own. I look forward to the
continued collaboration during the execution of the awarded project.”
 Guide #4

Are you ready

for Horizon
Europe?

Talk to one of our experts 1

8
info@catalyze-group.com | +31 20 723 44 00 | www.catalyze-group.com