Research Grant Competitions

The HORIZON EUROPE grant program is the largest grant program in the world with a budget of almost 100 billion euros.

The new EU research and innovation support program - Horizon Europe (Horizon-Europe) - will build on the achievements and successes of the previous research and innovation program (Horizon 2020). Horizon Europe is the most ambitious research and innovation program.

The program budget is expected at the level of 100 billion euros for the period 2021-2027.

Horizon Europe will remain active through the European Research Council (ERC), the first pan-European organization to stimulate the development of research activities in the European Union, as well as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie exchange program.

The following sections will form the basis of Horizon Europe:

• Open science;

• Global Challenges;

• Open innovations (Open Innovation).

Within the framework of the first section "Open Science", the European Research Council, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Program will operate, and work will also be carried out in the direction of "Research Infrastructures". The objectives of this section are to support cutting-edge research, increase the capacity of researchers in Europe and provide them with access to research infrastructures. Financing of the section will amount to 25.8 billion euros.

The second section "Global" challenges is aimed at solving world social problems. Research activities will focus on the following priority areas:

• Health care;

• Inclusive and safe society;

• Digitization of industry;

• Climate, energy and mobility;

• Food and natural resources.

One of the innovations of the "Horizon of Europe" will be the fight against the above-mentioned challenges within the framework of "missions" - a set of measures and actions aimed at achieving a certain result in the allotted time period. Missions require a clear statement of purpose, multidisciplinarity of research, as well as active involvement of the population in the definition of their topics. The second section will also include the activities of the Joint Research Center (JRC). The total amount of funding for the section will be 52.7 billion euros.

The third section "Open Innovation" will help to maximize the innovative potential of the European Union and promote the commercialization of the acquired scientific knowledge. The section will operate the European Innovation Council (EIC), which will support breakthrough research through two mechanisms. The first, EIC Pathfinder, will provide grants of up to €5 million to any legal entity, including educational institutions. The expected result will be a new startup or business plan. The second mechanism, called the EIC Accelerator, will be aimed at scaling up the production of promising products. The grant can be up to 30 million euros. The activities of the EIC will complement the work of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). 13.5 billion euros will be allocated to finance this section.

The future program will also focus on supporting the less developed countries of the EU in the direction of "Spreading excellence" to close the gap between the countries of Western and Eastern Europe. It is also planned to further simplify the structure of the EU Framework Programmes, including through the reduction and consolidation of existing funding mechanisms. In addition, the EU FP “Horizon Europe” should become more open compared to previous EU Framework Programs.

Another of Horizon Europe's objectives will be to strengthen ties with third countries by enabling EU trading partners such as the US, Canada or Australia to obtain the status of countries associated with the EU Framework Programs, regardless of their geographical location. The only criterion will be a high level of development of science and technology. Mutual co-financing should also become one of the conditions for cooperation with foreign partners.

Funds from the Horizon Europe program will be channeled into research mainly through a system of grants ranging from 1.5 to 10 million euros for a period of two to seven years, provided by competition, both to research teams and individuals. You can apply for them at all stages of a scientific career, which, according to the conditions of participation, is divided into two stages: "Erasmus +" for bachelors and masters, "Marie Curie" - for doctors (PhD) and postdocs.

By the decision of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education JSC "Science Fund" is designated as the National Coordinating Center for the HORIZON EUROPE Program