Horizon Europe is the European Union’s flagship funding program for research and innovation, running from 2021 to 2027 with a budget of €95.5 billion. It aims to tackle global challenges and boost EU competitiveness and growth. The program supports collaboration among researchers, institutions, and businesses, and its funding schemes span from fundamental to applicative research.
Key Benefits of applying and participating in the Horizon Europe program
- Access to European Expertise: Collaborate and exchange knowledge with top research and innovation groups and companies in Europe
- Networking: Work with relevant players in your field across Europe
- Funding: Potential access to a share of the €95.5 billion budget
- Global Challenges: Contribute to addressing major societal, scientific, technological and environmental issues
What US researchers must know about participating in the program
US researchers expressing interest in the Horizon Europe program should be aware of the following:
- The program is open for participation to any researcher with any nationality.
- US researchers that reside and work at least 50% of the time for institutions in any of the EU member states or in any of the Associated Countries (associated with the Horizon Europe program, such as The United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland and more…) can apply and benefit from all areas of the Horizon Europe program.
- US participants who do not reside or work in the EU/ACs, are not entitled to EU funding, except for specific cases (elaborated below).
- The participation in these grants can be on an individual basis or institutional basis, depending on the nature of the specific grant.
In this article we will briefly describe the options available for US researchers in the Horizon Europe program.
European Research Council (ERC) grants
The European Research Council (ERC) grants are considered to be the most prestigious funding opportunities for frontier research across all fields, emphasizing scientific excellence. ERC grants are designed to support individual researchers or small teams (2-4 researchers) in conducting groundbreaking and ambitious projects.
Key Features:
- ERC supports investigator-driven fundamental research, fostering innovation and unconventional approaches across disciplines.
- Participation is individual and open to researchers worldwide, regardless of nationality or age, provided they conduct the research in EU member states or associated countries.
- Grants are awarded based solely on scientific excellence and are portable between host institutions within the EU/AC.
Below is an overview of the main ERC grant schemes:
- Starting Grant (StG):
- Purpose: Supports early-career researchers starting their independent research team or program.
- Eligibility: Researchers who completed their Ph.D. between 2-7 years prior to the respective deadline’s year.
- Funding: Up to €1.5 million (additional €1 million possible).
- Duration: Up to 5 years.
- Minimum time dedication to the ERC project: 50%
- Minimum time spent in the EU/AC: 50%
- Consolidator Grant (CoG):
- Purpose: Helps researchers consolidate their independent research program.
- Eligibility: Researchers who completed their Ph.D. between 7-12 years prior to the respective deadline’s year.
- Funding: Up to €2 million (additional €1 million possible).
- Duration: Up to 5 years.
- Minimum time dedication to the ERC project: 40%
- Minimum time spent in the EU/AC: 50%
- Advanced Grant (AdG):
- Purpose: Supports established research leaders with a strong track record of achievements.
- Eligibility: Senior researchers with significant accomplishments over the past decade.
- Funding: Up to €2.5 million (additional €1 million possible).
- Duration: Up to 5 years.
- Minimum time dedication to the ERC project: 30%
- Minimum time spent in the EU/AC: 50%
- Synergy Grant (SyG):
- Purpose: Funds collaborative projects involving 2-4 Principal Investigators addressing complex research questions.
- Eligibility: Open to researchers at any career stage with complementary expertise.
- Funding: Up to €10 million (additional €4 million possible for specific needs).
- Duration: Up to 6 years.
- Minimum time dedication to the ERC project: 30% for each investigator.
- Minimum time spent in the EU/AC: 50%. One Principal investigator may be hosted by an institution outside the EU/AC
- Proof of Concept Grant (PoC):
- Purpose: Bridges the gap between ERC-funded research and its commercial or societal application.
- Eligibility: Only available to researchers with prior ERC grants.
- Funding: Lump sum of €150,000.
- Duration: Up to 18 months.
In order to have a better understanding of this unique grant, we recommend reading this article.
The official ERC website is available here.
On top of that, we recommend also visiting our detailed knowledge base about the ERC grants. It includes many practical articles, guides and tools that can assist you in the process of accessing and winning an ERC grant. Our ERC knowledge base is available here.
Horizon Europe Collaborative grants
The Horizon Europe program includes a wide range of opportunities for collaborative projects, attending to major challenges grouped in the following six clusters:
- Health
- Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Societies
- Civil Security for Society
- Digital, Industry & Space
- Climate, Energy and Mobility
- Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture & Environment
and the following 5 missions:
- Adaptation to Climate Change
- Cancer
- Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coastal and Inland Waters (“Mission Starfish 2030”)
- Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities
- Soil Health and Food (“A Soil Deal for Europe”)
It does not end here, as there are additional areas, such as the European Innovation Council (EIC), which is a flagship innovation program under Horizon Europe, designed to support breakthrough technologies and game-changing innovations throughout their lifecycle, and more…
Participation in these grants is institutional-based.
As expressed above, US nationals who live and work in institutions in any of the EU/AC countries, can benefit from the entire spectrum of the Horizon Europe program.
Institutions established in the US, and any researcher working in these institutions, can apply, benefit and receive EU funding for participation in collaborative projects only under Cluster 1 Health.
All other collaborative grants are open for participation of US-based institutions, however, they will participate without receiving EU-funding.
What? How and When?
Applying to Horizon Europe collaborative grants can be overwhelming for beginners. It requires background work as well as good understanding of the program structure.
As a first step we’d recommend our compiled guide that can help you in the process.
In addition to that we can assist with dedicated courses and consulting services.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) – mobility grants
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) grants are a key component of the Horizon Europe program, designed to support researchers at various career stages. These grants aim to foster excellence in research, promote international collaboration, and enhance researchers’ career development through mobility and training.
The main grants available under MSCA are:
Doctoral Networks (DN): Multi-beneficiary (collaborative) actions supporting innovative doctoral programs and enhancing doctoral training excellence in Europe
Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF): Individual grants empowering researchers with PhDs to acquire advanced skills through international and interdisciplinary mobility
Staff Exchanges (SE): Multi-beneficiary (collaborative) initiatives fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange through secondment of staff across research and innovation domains, sectors and disciplines
COFUND: Mono-beneficiary actions co-financing doctoral and postdoctoral programs to promote best practices in research training and mobility
Similar to the above, US nationals who live and work in institutions in any of the EU/AC countries, can benefit from the entire spectrum of the Horizon Europe program, including all of the MSCA grants listed above.
However, US-based researchers and institutions, may not receive EU-funding except for the following three specific cases:
- A US researcher that wishes to engage in research and innovation activities by moving to Europe for 12-24 months (MSCA-PF grant).
- A research group hosting European post doctoral fellows (MSCA-PF)
- EU/AC institutions that have a funded MSCA-COFUND project publish PhD/postdoc vacancies to which US nationals can apply.
While direct EU funding is not possible except for the cases above, MSCA offers US-based institutions and research groups the following possibilities:
- Hosting seconded fully funded staff from EU/AC based institutions (MSCA-SE)
- Hosting seconded fully-funded Doctoral candidates (MSCA-DN) and in some cases, receiving indirect funding for training activities provided in the scope of the project.
We offer a variety of training and consulting services supporting all MSCA grants.
Additionally, our knowledge base offers several guides and articles to help potential applicants better understand the nature of the different MSCA grants.
Conclusion
Horizon Europe offers several opportunities for US researchers and institutions, supporting collaboration, knowledge exchange and access to world leading research and innovation. But navigating the possibilities, understanding eligibility conditions and how to apply, may be overwhelming. If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities, do not hesitate to contact us.