How to Start a Horizon Europe Project: Step-by-Step

Starting a Horizon Europe project means working through a well-defined sequence of steps: identify a suitable call in the Work Programme, build a compliant consortium, prepare and submit your proposal via the Funding & Tenders Portal, pass evaluation, negotiate the Grant Agreement, and then formally launch your project. Each stage has distinct requirements, deadlines, and administrative obligations that apply from day one — and missing any of them can delay or jeopardise your project's start.

Note that Horizon 2020 — the EU's research and innovation programme for 2014–2020 with a budget of nearly EUR 80 billion — is now closed to new proposals (according to the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme page). Its successor, Horizon Europe, runs from 2021 to 2027 with a budget of EUR 95.5 billion. If you are preparing a new project, Horizon Europe is the programme you need to engage with. This article walks you through how to do that — from first steps to project kick-off.

Where Do You Find the Right Horizon Europe Call?

The first step is identifying a call for proposals that matches your research or innovation objectives. Horizon Europe calls are published in thematic Work Programmes organised around policy priorities and grouped into so-called "destinations" — specific challenge areas the European Commission wants to address with EU funding.

All open calls, topic descriptions, deadlines, and application forms are published on the Funding and Tenders Portal. You should start by reading the relevant Horizon Europe Work Programme carefully before committing to a topic — each Work Programme defines not just what is funded, but the expected outcomes, budget envelopes per topic, and any specific eligibility conditions that apply.

According to the European Research Executive Agency (REA)'s guidance on how to apply, the REA also organises Information Days (Info Days) to present specific calls and help applicants understand what evaluators are looking for. Attending these — or watching the recordings — is time well spent before committing to a topic.

Practical tip: timeline backwards from the deadline

Proposal development specialists at Enspire Science recommend allocating at least three months for proposal preparation before the submission deadline — and more if your deadline falls near a holiday period. Label your deadline as your fixed anchor point and work backwards: consortium formation, internal review cycles, financial calculations, and final submission checks all need to be scheduled against it. A common mistake is underestimating the time needed for partner organisations to complete their Participant Identification Code (PIC) registration before submission.

Who Can Apply and What Consortium Do You Need?

Horizon Europe is open to any type of organisation — universities, research institutes, SMEs, large companies, public authorities, NGOs — as long as they have the operational and financial capacity to carry out the tasks they propose. The key constraint is on consortium composition.

According to the REA's guidance on who should apply, most Horizon Europe calls require a consortium of at least three partner organisations from three different EU Member States or associated countries, with at least one of those partners from an EU country. Note, however, that for co-funded partnership calls specifically, the minimum transnational requirement is at least two independent legal entities from two different EU Member States or Horizon Europe associated countries (HE AGA, Article 44, p.346). Some calls set higher minimum requirements or require specific types of partners (e.g., SMEs, end-users, civil society organisations under a multi-actor approach). Always verify the specific eligibility conditions on the call topic page.

The grant is awarded to allow the consortium to implement the action as described in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement — the project description that was approved at evaluation (HE AGA, Article 3, p.32). This means your consortium structure, roles, and budget split must be clearly defined at the proposal stage and will be binding once the Grant Agreement is signed.

Associated countries and third-country partners

Organisations from non-EU countries may participate in Horizon Europe under specific conditions. Partners from Horizon Europe associated countries are treated similarly to EU-based partners for many eligibility purposes. Partners from non-associated third countries can participate but generally may not receive EU funding, unless the call topic specifically provides for it. Always verify the participation rules on the specific topic page in the Funding & Tenders Portal, as exceptions exist.

How Do You Submit a Horizon Europe Proposal?

All Horizon Europe proposals must be submitted electronically through the Portal Submission System. The proposal is created and submitted by a contact person from the coordinating organisation. The submission wizard guides you through the process step by step.

The application consists of two parts:

• Part A — the administrative forms generated automatically by the IT system, based on information entered by participants (organisation details, budget summary, partner roles). Part A is not uploaded — it is completed directly in the portal.
• Part B — the technical description (the narrative proposal), uploaded as a PDF document following templates downloaded from the submission system for the specific call or topic.

According to the Portal Online Manual, the submission process follows these key steps:

1. Log in to the Funding & Tenders Portal using your EU Login account
2. Select the call, topic, and type of action
3. Create a draft proposal (title, acronym, summary, main organisation)
4. Add partner organisations and contact persons
5. Complete the web forms for Part A and upload Part B
6. Submit the proposal and receive an acknowledgement of receipt

Before you can list your partner organisations in the submission system, each of them must have a valid Participant Identification Code (PIC), obtained by registering in the Participant Register on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Many coordinators find that chasing PIC registrations from new partners in the final days before the deadline is one of the most avoidable sources of last-minute stress — build this into your consortium onboarding process weeks in advance.

The dos and don'ts of proposal preparation

The REA's Dos and Don'ts guidance emphasises reading the Work Programme and call topic carefully before starting, aligning your proposal tightly to the call's stated objectives and expected outcomes, and ensuring your budget is precisely calculated rather than estimated at a high level. A common failure mode is writing a scientifically strong proposal that drifts from the call's specific scope — evaluators are assessing against the topic's criteria, not general research quality.

How Are Horizon Europe Proposals Evaluated?

Horizon Europe proposals are evaluated by independent expert reviewers against three standard award criteria: Excellence, Impact, and Quality and efficiency of the implementation. The weight and sub-criteria for each may vary by type of action — Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) each have slightly different evaluation aspects, as set out in General Annex D of the applicable Horizon Europe Work Programme.

Proposals are ranked according to their evaluation scores. For co-funded calls under Horizon Europe partnerships specifically, the selection must follow a two-step procedure: a national or transnational review at Step 1, followed by a single international peer review at Step 2 with at least three independent experts (HE AGA, Article 44, section 5). This two-step requirement applies to co-funded partnership calls; standard collaborative project calls (RIA, IA, CSA) may use a single-stage or two-stage evaluation procedure depending on the call design — always check the topic page for the specific procedure used.

The evaluation process typically takes several months after the submission deadline. From initial submission to receiving the evaluation result, consortia should expect a minimum of several months for single-stage calls. Two-stage procedures extend this further, as only shortlisted consortia from Stage 1 are invited to submit a full proposal for Stage 2.

What Happens Between Evaluation and Project Start?

Once your proposal receives a positive evaluation result and scores above the threshold, the granting authority issues an invitation to prepare the Grant Agreement. This phase — the Grant Preparation and Grant Agreement negotiation — is a critical administrative stage that many coordinators underestimate in terms of the time and documentation required.

During grant preparation, you will need to:

• Confirm and validate all partner organisations' legal and financial data in the Participant Register
• Submit any clarifications or revisions to the Description of Action (Annex 1) as requested by the granting authority
• Agree on the final budget breakdown per partner and per work package
• Prepare a draft Consortium Agreement (required for most multi-partner actions)
• Complete any ethics review procedures if flagged during evaluation

The project starting date is defined in the Grant Agreement. According to the Horizon Europe Annotated Grant Agreement, the default project starting date is normally either the first day of the month following the grant signature, or the day after the grant signature — the applicable option is set out in the Grant Agreement's Data Sheet. The granting authority can agree on a different fixed date if justified by the applicants during grant preparation. Critically, the starting date may not be earlier than the date the grant application was submitted, except where provided for by the basic act or in cases of extreme urgency (HE AGA, Project Summary, p.21).

The period between a positive evaluation result and a signed Grant Agreement varies considerably in practice and can range from several months to over a year, depending on the granting authority and the complexity of the consortium. Plan your consortium's internal resources accordingly — especially if partners are counting on EU pre-financing to begin their activities.

What Must You Do at Project Launch?

Once the Grant Agreement enters into force and the project starting date is confirmed, your project is formally live. The first months of a Horizon Europe project involve a concentrated burst of administrative and operational setup that sets the tone for everything that follows.

Kick-off meeting

Organising a consortium kick-off meeting within the first month or two is standard practice. This meeting should cover: the confirmed work plan and task allocation per partner, the internal communication and reporting procedures, financial management rules (including cost eligibility, the 25% flat-rate indirect cost calculation, and any partner-specific accounting requirements), and the governance structure established in the Consortium Agreement.

Open science obligations from day one

Open science is a legal obligation under Horizon Europe — not an optional best practice. According to the REA's open science guidance, open science operates on the principle of being "as open as possible, as closed as necessary". From the project start date, your consortium is bound by open access requirements for publications and, in most cases, a Data Management Plan (DMP) must be submitted within the first six months of the project. Publications must be deposited in a trusted repository for scientific publications and made available under immediate open access, licensed under the latest available version of the Creative Commons Attribution International Public Licence (CC BY) or an equivalent licence. For monographs and other long-text formats, licences excluding commercial uses and/or derivative works (such as CC BY-NC or CC BY-ND) are also permitted. Persistent identifiers — such as a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or a handle — must be provided for the peer-reviewed version of each publication, and PIDs for all authors involved in the action (such as ORCIDs or ResearcherIDs) must also be provided (HE AGA, Article 44, p.346).

Coordinator responsibilities on the Funding & Tenders Portal

The Grant Agreement designates the coordinator as the central contact point with the granting authority, though in specific cases the granting authority may contact individual partners directly. All formal notifications — including notifications of significant events, amendment requests, and reporting submissions — must be submitted through the Funding & Tenders Portal electronically using the appropriate Portal functions, except if explicitly instructed otherwise by the granting authority (HE AGA, Article 31, p.1). Set up your project space in the portal immediately after the Grant Agreement is signed, assign the correct roles to consortium members, and ensure all partners understand the access permissions and responsibilities.

What Should Project Coordinators Do Before and After the Grant Agreement Is Signed?

The following actions should be on every coordinator's checklist for the period between proposal submission and project launch:

• Verify all partner PIC numbers are valid and up to date in the Participant Register before submission — errors here can block the submission process entirely.
• Draft the Consortium Agreement early — ideally before the Grant Agreement is signed, not after. DESCA (the Model Consortium Agreement for Horizon Europe) provides a widely used template that many consortia adapt.
• Create a cost allocation spreadsheet before the kick-off meeting, mapping each partner's budget to work package tasks using Horizon Europe's cost categories: personnel costs, subcontracting, travel and subsistence, equipment, other goods and services, and indirect costs at the 25% flat rate.
• Set up a time-recording system for all personnel whose costs will be charged to the project from day one — retroactive time sheet reconstruction is one of the most common issues identified in Horizon Europe audits.
• Submit the Data Management Plan within the first six months: assign a responsible partner, agree on the repository to use (such as Zenodo for EU-funded research), and document your approach to FAIR data principles from the outset.
• Assign open access responsibilities across the consortium — do not leave publication compliance to the end of the project. Each partner's researchers should know the open access requirements before they start submitting papers.

If a consortium partner withdraws in Month 18, the coordinator must immediately formally notify the granting authority through the Portal Formal Notifications function (My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Launch new interaction with the EU > Formal Notification), as set out in HE AGA, Article 31, p.1. The consortium must then decide whether to replace the partner, redistribute tasks, or request a budget amendment. Early-stage governance documents — particularly the Consortium Agreement — should define decision-making procedures for exactly this scenario before it happens.

Looking Ahead: Horizon Europe in 2026 and Beyond

Horizon Europe's current Strategic Plan covers 2025–2027 and defines the programme's key orientations for the final years of the framework. The Funding & Tenders Portal is updated regularly with new calls, and the Work Programmes for this period reflect EU policy priorities including the green transition, digital transformation, and open strategic autonomy. For organisations that participated in Horizon 2020 projects, the transition to Horizon Europe brings both continuity — the core grant structure, cost model, and reporting logic are similar — and meaningful differences, particularly around open science obligations, the Mission-based approach in some clusters, and the expanded role of partnerships.

Starting a Horizon Europe project is a substantial commitment, but the process is well-documented and supported by official guidance from the European Research Executive Agency and the European Commission. Use the resources available — the REA's how-to-apply pages, the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Info Days, and the EMDESK Academy — to build your preparation systematically and give your consortium the strongest possible foundation for both a successful proposal and a well-managed project.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it still possible to apply for Horizon 2020 funding in 2026?

No. Horizon 2020 closed to new proposals at the end of 2020 and has been succeeded by Horizon Europe (2021–2027), according to the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme page. If you want EU research and innovation funding, you must apply under Horizon Europe via the Funding and Tenders Portal.

How many partners do you need to start a Horizon Europe project?

For most Horizon Europe collaborative project calls, you need at least three partner organisations from three different EU Member States or associated countries, with at least one partner from an EU country, according to the REA's guidance on who should apply. For co-funded partnership calls specifically, the minimum is at least two independent legal entities from two different EU Member States or Horizon Europe associated countries (HE AGA, Article 44). Some call topics set higher minimum requirements or mandate specific partner types such as SMEs or end-users — always verify the specific conditions on the call topic page.

How long does it take from proposal submission to project start in Horizon Europe?

The period from submission deadline to Grant Agreement signature varies considerably depending on the granting authority, the type of call, and consortium complexity. In practice, consortia should plan for this process to take a number of months — sometimes extending to a year or more in complex cases. Two-stage evaluation procedures extend the overall timeline further, as only shortlisted consortia from Stage 1 are invited to submit a full proposal.

When does the project starting date begin under a Horizon Europe Grant Agreement?

According to the Horizon Europe Annotated Grant Agreement, the default project starting date is normally either the first day of the month following the grant signature, or the day after the grant signature — the applicable option is set out in the Grant Agreement's Data Sheet. The granting authority can agree on a different fixed date if justified by the applicants, but the starting date may not be earlier than the date the grant application was submitted, except in cases of extreme urgency or where provided for by the basic act (HE AGA, Project Summary, p.21).

What open science obligations apply from the start of a Horizon Europe project?

Open access to publications and research data is a legal obligation under Horizon Europe from the project start date. A Data Management Plan must typically be submitted within the first six months of the project. Publications must be deposited in a trusted repository and made available under immediate open access, licensed under CC BY or an equivalent licence (with CC BY-NC or CC BY-ND also permitted for monographs and long-text formats). Persistent identifiers such as DOIs must be provided for peer-reviewed publications, and author identifiers such as ORCIDs must be provided for all authors involved in the action, as set out in the Horizon Europe Annotated Grant Agreement.

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