Horizon Europe launches its first calls for proposals

Horizon Europe launches its first calls for proposals

The new framework programme for the period 2021-2027 kicked off in March with the release of the first calls through the European Research Council (known as ERC) to support science projects in Europe. 
However, it was in April that Horizon Europe was officially inaugurated with the start of the new EIC (European Innovation Council) calls, in addition to the ERC calls that are still open. 

Are you a university or a startup? You should be interested in the EIC calls. 

The European Innovation Council has launched calls for proposals aimed at two very different audiences: universities and start-ups, with the aim of ensuring the financing of innovation from its beginnings to its arrival on the market. In 2021, the EIC will allocate its budget of €1.5 billion (€11.8 billion for the entire Horizon Europe programme) to different instruments with completely open themes and other themes framed within the cross-cutting priorities of the European Commission (Health & Digitalisation and Green Deal). The already launched instruments  are: 

  • EIC Pathfinder covers the development of previously untested disruptive ideas: €303.7M which will fund 75 projects. At the moment, the calls are: 

HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01-01 | EIC Pathfinder Open 2021: closing date 19 May, aimed at startups and universities seeking to investigate a radically new technology with the potential to create new markets and/or address global challenges.

  • EIC Accelerator targeting technology-based SMEs that want to launch an innovative, high-impact product on the market, leading to the exponential growth of the SME: €553.4M.  At least 220 projects will be funded in 2021. The calls, now open, are defined in two phases, the first of which ends on 9 June: 

HORIZON-EIC-2021-ACCELERATORCHALLENGES-01-01 | Strategic Digital and Health Technologies Call focusing on innovations based on scientific discoveries or technological breakthroughs (“deep tech”), where significant funding is needed for a long period of time before they can generate benefits.

HORIZON-EIC-2021-ACCELERATORCHALLENGES-01-02 | Green Deal innovations for the Economic Recovery belongs to 46% of the EIC budget allocated to Health, Digital and Green. This call supports companies (mainly start-ups and SMEs) to scale up high impact innovations with the potential to create new or disrupt existing markets in identified areas of strategic importance.

HORIZON-EIC-2021-ACCELERATOROPEN-01 | EIC Accelerator Open 2021 supports companies (mainly start-ups and SMEs) to scale up high-impact innovations with the potential to create new markets or disrupt existing ones.

COVID19, the protagonist of the first calls of the health cluster

Horizon Europe’s Pillar 2 has also started its activity through the health cluster which is particularly relevant in times of pandemics. Therefore, the first funding opportunities launched by the Commission are related to the fight against COVID19: 

HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CORONA-01-02 | Cohorts united against COVID-19 variants of concern. The aim of this call, which ends on 6 May, is to support activities that enable or contribute to the development of large-scale COVID-19 cohorts and networks worldwide, including beyond Europe’s borders, forging links with European initiatives as a global response to the pandemic.

HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CORONA-01-01: Vaccines & therapeutic clinical trials to boost COVID-19 prevention and treatment. With a deadline of 6 May, this grant will support vaccine and therapeutic trials to boost prevention and further inform public health policy and clinical management.

Other Multiannual Financial Framework Programmes: ERASMUS +

Horizon Europe is not the only programme that has been launched. Erasmus + has also launched its first calls with universities again being the target audience.
Erasmus + has an estimated budget for the period 2021-2027 of €28 million, allocated to the following objectives: 

  • Promote European cooperation in the field of cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage.
  • Increasing the competitiveness of the cultural and creative sectors, in particular the audio-visual sector.

Many calls for proposals have been launched, which can be found on kaila.eu.