How does Horizon Europe distribute its funding?

EU

Horizon Europe distributes its funding through various pillars and programs aimed at supporting groundbreaking research, innovation, and addressing global challenges.

Exploring Horizon Europe Funding Allocation

Pillar 1 – Excellent Science

  • Horizon Europe allocates funding for frontier research projects through the European Research Council (ERC) grants and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fellowships.
  • ERC grants support principal investigators and their teams in pursuing groundbreaking research endeavors.
  • MSCA fellowships encourage researchers at all career stages to engage in cross-border mobility and collaboration with the private sector.

Pillar 2 – Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness

  • This pillar targets research and innovation projects addressing major societal challenges like climate change, clean energy, digital transformation, and health.
  • Funding also supports the development of key enabling technologies and research infrastructures.
  • Cross-disciplinary collaboration is promoted through large-scale missions and partnerships.

Pillar 3 – Innovative Europe

  • Funding under this pillar focuses on breakthrough and market-creating innovation projects facilitated by the European Innovation Council (EIC).
  • The EIC supports high-risk, high-impact ideas from early-stage research to startup scale-up.
  • Additionally, funding is available for activities promoting ecosystem building, such as innovation procurement.

The allocation of Horizon Europe funding follows open, competitive calls for proposals, evaluated by independent experts based on principles of excellence and impact. Consortia of partners from multiple countries are often required, encouraging cross-border collaboration.

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