Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation. A total budget of €95.5bn is available until 2027. Grant competitions are highly competitive, and to win, you need to have the know-how and invest significant time in preparing your application.
Myriad is one of the leading specialist Horizon Europe grant bid writers. Our talented bid writing team boasts some of Europe's highest success rates.
We’ve created five simple sections to help you understand how Horizon Europe works and whether your business could be eligible for funding.
Horizon Europe is the EU’s current funding programme for research and innovation.
Based on European values, Horizon Europe seeks to develop a sustainable, fair, and prosperous future for people and the planet.
Key aims of Horizon Europe include:
Horizon Europe is unique in that it provides both “bottom-up” funding in Pillar I (Excellent Science) and Pillar III (Innovative Europe) and mission-orientated actions in Pillar II, Global Challenges, and European Industrial Competitiveness.
Pillar III includes the European Innovation Council (EIC), part of the Innovative Europe pillar of Horizon Europe, and has a budget of €10 billion to support breakthrough and disruptive innovations with market-creating potential that are too risky for private investors. 70% of the European Innovation Council budget is earmarked for SMEs.
An outline of the Pillars can be seen in the image below.
Supporting at least 150 European regions and communities towards climate resilience by 2030.
Involving citizens, businesses, investors and authorities to deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030.
Targeting more than 3 million lives saved, living longer and better by 2030.
Ensure at least 75% of all soils in the EU are healthy for food, people, nature, and climate by 2030.
Cleaning marine and fresh waters, restoring degraded ecosystems and decarbonising the blue economy.
Applying for a grant is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. With our grant bid writing service, we can work with you to prepare an application that gives your project the best chance of success.
Each grant competition has its own rules and requirements. You need to ensure that your innovation meets the competition scope and that you are eligible to apply. For further guidance, you can contact us to determine whether you're applying for the proper competition.
Grant applications are usually examined by independent experts in the area of innovation identified in the application. The number of experts scoring the application depends on the grant awarding body.
Award-winning projects will involve breakthrough technologies and disruptive innovations that draw on unique strengths from Europe and provide global opportunities to scale up.
"Marc and his team assisted Hooke Bio in securing EIC Accelerator funding (blended finance). I doubt we would have successfully navigated the complicated EIC process and portal without Marc's in-depth knowledge of the portal's structure and strategic grant writing. He has fantastic attention to detail, is easily contactable and always very clear with his feedback. Marc's assistance does not end with notification of the funding; he continues to advise, assist and put us in contact with others in his vast network who have received similar funding."
Dr Finola Cliffe
Hooke Bio Ltd
"Marc and his team have been an excellent support to Luminate, advising on DTIF and EIC Accelerator grant submissions. They have an obvious understanding of the funding requirements and have supported us through all phases, from grant writing to interview preparation. I would highly recommend him for support on deeptech funding applications."
Aaron Hannon
Luminate Medical
“Marc and the Myriad team helped us apply for and secure an EIC Accelerator Grant. I would recommend Marc and the wider team to anyone applying for this or any other type of funding. He has an incredible talent for structuring and writing technical content such that it is both easy to understand and compelling and a knowledge of the process that is second to none. Consultants often have a sometimes-earned reputation for "give me your watch, and I'll tell you the time". Marc could not be more different to this. His optimism, proactivity, resilience and sense of humour kept us going through a challenging process from beginning to end. I lost count of the number of times he has said, "Don't worry, I'll do that". He's also a great bloke, and I look forward to having the opportunity to work with him again in future.”
Dominic Griffiths
Alesi Surgical
"Marc is the best in the grant funding business, with a stellar success rate at innovation funding mechanisms. He acts as a guide to enable the reviewer to be the hero - clarifying your message so the audience will listen - and his approach works. I've heard Marc described as a great grant writer and editor, but that description is an injustice to his deep expertise, effort, and skill. We've had a 100% success rate for all applications we've worked with Marc - notably EIC Accelerator grant-first (plus future equity) success in 2021."
Stephen Cox
Invera Medical
“Kite Medical had the pleasure of working with Marc on a recent grant application to the EIC Accelerator, which was successful. Marc became part of our team during this time and was a consistent calming influence. He is so knowledgeable about this process and works so efficiently that it significantly enhanced our experience. We would be more than happy to recommend Marc and his team at Myriad.”
Joan FitzPatrick
Kite Medical
"Lauren and the Myriad team helped us apply for and secure funding through the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF). Lauren was instrumental in our success, providing CergenX and the other consortium members with clear guidance, advice, and writing expertise. I look forward to continuing this working relationship, and I would recommend Lauren and the wider team to anyone applying for this or any other funding of this type."
Jason Mowles
CergenX
"The Galenband team collaborated with Lauren through Myriad to prepare our grant submission. Throughout this process, Lauren demonstrated a wealth of knowledge, offering insights and clarity on the nuanced details of a grant application. This significantly expedited and streamlined the proposal and interview preparations. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Lauren during the grant agreement process and sincerely appreciate the support received thus far."
Oisín McGrath
Galenband
"We worked with Lauren and Marc at Myriad for over a year in preparing our submission for the EIC Accelerator, and they were a pleasure to work with during that time. They helped us with every step from proposal writing to interview preparation and were key to our success in securing the approval for a Grant-First Award of €2.5m followed by €6m in equity. We continue to work with Lauren and Marc since their experience is invaluable in the ongoing management of our grant, and it frees me up as CEO to focus on driving the business, knowing that I am in their safe, guiding hands. I couldn't recommend Lauren, Marc and Myriad highly enough!"
Peter F Doyle
BioSimulytics
"I have worked with Rehman on several grant proposals, and so far, he has kept us at a 100% success rate (approx. €4m to date!). Rehman can quickly get to the heart of deeply technical ideas and help translate them into proposals that win. He is driven and has excellent attention to detail, and I'd have no problem recommending him to anyone looking to do the same!"
Mark Brassil
Smart Reactors Ireland and Cerefuze Medical Devices UK Ltd
"Working with Rehman on our EIC grant submission was more than a pleasure. He has much experience in grant writing. We were successful with his expert guidance and support. I enjoyed working with Rehman; he was knowledgeable and highly motivated approach. I highly recommend working with Rehman for his professional services and personality. Thanks for all your help, Rehman! You did a great Job!"
Shahar Shaked
BioProtect Ltd
”Once we met with Marc, it became apparent he understands precisely what the EU is looking for. Even though it was our grant, our proposal, and it was for our company, we could feel he was invested in it. He just had little ideas that really helped to make sure we got all the marks that were going."
Dr Kate Reddington
BioProbe Diagnostics
Myriad have an enviable track record with R&D grant applications. Using our grant application services can give you a significant competitive advantage over other grant applicants.
Our grant bid writers have secured over €200m for our clients in the last 24 months. We are also very proud to have secured some of the highest-scoring applications in Europe, with five of our projects scoring 15/15.
About MyriadEach programme within Horizon Europe has its own budget and its own funding guidelines. For the EIC Accelerator, the maximum grant is €2.5 million. Eligible costs are reimbursed up to a maximum of 70%. The minimum investment component is €0.5 million, and the maximum is €15 million.
Pillar I ‘Excellent Science’ strengthens EU science and technology due to increased investment in highly skilled people and cutting-edge research. It supports the search for breakthroughs in understanding and acquiring knowledge at all levels; the world-class facilities needed to achieve this include physical and knowledge infrastructures and the means to disseminate and share knowledge, methodologies, and skills.
The European Research Council will support the best researchers with flexible, long-term funding to pursue ground-breaking, high-gain/high-risk European research. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions focuses on excellent research that is fully bottom-up and open to any field of research and innovation, from basic research to market take-up and innovation services. It supports the mobility of researchers across borders, sectors and disciplines, excellent training of researchers, strengthening human resources and skills development and creating synergies with EU, national and regional programmes.
Research Infrastructures will endow Europe with world-class sustainable research infrastructures open and accessible to all researchers in Europe and beyond. The key objectives of Pillar I Excellent Science are to reduce research fragmentation, avoid duplication and better coordinate the design, development, accessibility and use of research infrastructures.
Pillar II ‘Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’ delivers on the EU’s strategic priorities, such as the Paris Agreement on climate change, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. Pillar II will be aligned with actions taken in other countries and regions to achieve a more significant impact. It is grouped into six integrated clusters of activities that aim at creating systemic and sustainable changes for society and the economy. Pillar II includes six clusters:
Pillar II is implemented primarily by collaborative research and innovation projects that respond to pre-defined challenges and bring together private and public actors, end-users, scientists, technologists, producers, innovators, businesses, educators, policymakers, citizens and civil society organisations. Pillar II also includes research and innovation missions and a range of partnerships with public and private partners.
Pillar III seeks to enhance the EU’s industrial competitiveness and innovation performance, notably by supporting the development and deployment of disruptive and market-creating innovation via the European Innovation Council, European Innovation Ecosystems and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) is part of Pillar III Innovative Europe and supports European innovators in all fields of disruptive, market-creating innovations. It supports both research-intensive transdisciplinary projects (Pathfinder) and close-to-market mono-beneficiary projects (Accelerator).
All kinds of businesses are eligible, from startups to large multinational corporations. Research-performing organisations are also eligible.
It is crucial to keep the European point of view in mind and ensure that your project:
Each funding competition has its own evaluation process. For the EIC Accelerator, there are three stages: 1) evaluation of your short application by remote evaluators; 2) assessment of your entire proposal by remote evaluators; and 3) innovation pitch and interview in front of EIC Jury Members.
Each funding competition has its timelines. For the EIC Accelerator, you can expect results from the initial short application stage (expression of interest) in 2-4 weeks following submission. For the application, results are within five weeks of submission, with interviews nine weeks after the deadline.
The “Bottom-up” funding mechanism includes:
The European Research Area (ERA) is a concept that seeks to establish a single unified area in which scientific knowledge, technology, and researchers can circulate freely. ERA provides a framework for European policies geared towards removing barriers to mobility and putting the necessary conditions in place for scientists to move more quickly, have better access to funding and concentrate on their research.
The EIC Pathfinder and Accelerator are the two main funding instruments under the EIC. The Pathfinder funds lower Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), trans-disciplinary research-intensive projects in breakthrough areas of science through multi-beneficiary projects. The Accelerator funds mono-beneficiary and highly innovative projects at higher TRLs, which are viable but not bankable due to their level of risk.
The Work Programmes, including calls, are published biannually but with annual deadlines for proposal calls. The actual call publication date and deadlines may differ from one programme part to the other. Minor changes to the calls in the second year of the Work Programme may occur after the publication.
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Is your business registered for Corporation Tax in the UK or are you a partnership with corporate owners?
Have you developed new or improved existing products, processes or services in the last 2 accounting periods?
Does your business have fewer than 500 staff, and either: A turnover of no more than €100 million; or Gross assets of no more than €86 million?
Sorry, you must be a UK limited company or be a Partnership with corporate owners to be eligible for R&D tax credits.
In order to qualify for R&D tax credits you must be seeking to advance science or technology within your industry. As you’ve not developed any new or improved any existing innovative tools, products or services, and not re-developed any existing products, processes or services in the last 2 years. It is unlikely you have any qualifying activity. If you’re unsure, email or call us and we’ll help clarify.
In order to claim R&D tax credits, you need to either employ staff or spend money on contractors, consumable items and other items. If you’re unsure, email or call us and we’ll help clarify.
Thanks for that!
Congrats!! Based on your previous answers, you will qualify for the SME scheme. If you’d like some help maximising and securing your claim, please email or call us.
Congrats!! Based on your previous answers, you will qualify for the RDEC scheme. If you’d like some help maximising and securing your claim, please email or call us.
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