Further information on Horizon Europe for New Zealand entities

Before submitting a Horizon Europe application, all participants involved in the proposal must first be registered in the Participant Register of the Funding and Tenders portal and have their 9-digit Participant Identification Code (PIC number). You can verify directly on the Portal whether your organisation is already registered and has a PIC.

Participant Register (Funding and Tenders Portal)(external link) — European Commission

To join a proposal, you only need to be registered. The European Commission will need to validate participants before the can sign a Horizon Europe Grant Agreement. For more information, see the Horizon Europe online manual.

Online Manual (Funding and Tenders Portal)(external link) — European Commission

Horizon Europe Pillar II funds basic to fully applied research and innovation activities, including commercialisation of technologies. They are divided on the basis of the Technology Readiness Level (TRL), which is an estimate of how close a technology is to market.

Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) fund activities in the range TRL 1–6 (basic research to prototype demonstration), whereas Innovation Actions (IA) fund activities from TRL 7–9 (pre-production to commercialisation). These are the most common actions in Horizon Europe Pillar, with RIA making up around 53% of topics, and IA around 30%. A third type of action is Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), which have a different focus and different requirements for consortium composition.

Proposals in RIAs and IAs have a page limit of 45 pages, while CSAs have a page limit of 30 pages.

In most cases, all beneficiaries in Horizon Europe projects are funded at 100 percent of eligible costs. However, funding rates are lower for profit-making entities in some actions.

For Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), all organisation types are funded at 100 percent of the eligible costs.

In Innovation Actions (IA), the funding rate depends on the legal status of the organisation. Non-profit legal entities are still funded at 100 percent of eligible costs, while the funding rate is reduced to 70 percent for profit-making entities.

Topic IDs in the Horizon Europe work programmes are typically of the form:

[Programme]-[Cluster/Partnership]-[Call year]-[Destination, if applicable]-[Call]-[Topic]

For example:

• HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-05 is a topic in Cluster 2 from 2021 in the Democracy and Governance destination.
• HORIZON-JU-IHI-2023-05-04 is a topic from 2023 in the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking.

Some Horizon Europe calls use a two-stage process, and are listed in the work programmes and the Funding and Tenders Portal with two deadline dates. In a two-stage process a consortium submits a short initial proposal, and a set of applicants are then invited to submit a full proposal. Stage 1 proposals have a page limit of 10 pages (as compared with 45 pages for full proposals).

Registration for MBIE top-up funding is required at the earliest stage of your involvement in a proposal. We recognise that some details may change between registration of a first-stage proposal and the final project, and you will be able to update these prior to contracting.

Horizon Europe is open to all legal entities. This means that individuals, researchers, businesses, institutions, universities, associations, organisations, etc. established in an EU Member State or Associated Country can participate and receive funding from the programme.

Participation in Horizon Europe is open to entities in most countries in the world, with only a few exceptions (e.g., related to sanctions). However, not all countries are automatically eligible to receive funding. As an Associated Country, entities from New Zealand can join and lead projects in Horizon Europe Pillar II and receive funding from the programme.

See the complete list of participating countries from the European Commission here:

List of participating countries in Horizon Europe(external link) — European Commission

Horizon Europe Pillar I includes Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), Europe's most competitive research and innovation fellowships, and the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) research grants.

While New Zealand’s association only covers Pillar II, non-associated third countries can still participate in Pillar I actions, and there good are opportunities for New Zealand researchers to participate. The important distinction is where the funded work can be carried out.

Note that the MBIE top-up scheme does not apply to Pillar I.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

New Zealand researchers are eligible to apply for MSCA fellowships and other MSCA actions, but can typically only be funded to carry out their research in EU Member States or other countries associated to Pillar I.

MSCA Co-Fund actions, MSCA Doctoral Networks, and MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships would all allow researchers to spend time in New Zealand to do their research with their salary paid by their home institution, but with no research funding for the hosting NZ organisation. MSCA Staff Exchanges can also allow NZ to host and train seconded staff from other partners in EU Member States and Associated Countries under the project’s costs, but NZ partners can only second their staff members at their own expenses.

More information about MSCA actions is available here:

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (europa.eu)(external link) — European Commission

European Research Council grants

ERC grants are open to researchers of any nationality to conduct their research activity in any EU Member State or (Pillar I) Associated Country. New Zealand-based researchers are eligible to apply, and can be funded for research to be carried out in EU Member States or countries associated to Pillar I. However, it is usually not possible to receive funding to carry out research in New Zealand.

One exception is the ERC Synergy grants, which allow one partner from a non-associated third country. A researcher from a New Zealand organisation could therefore partner with at least one and maximum 3 EU/Associated Country partners.

More information about ERC grants can be found here:

ERC (europa.eu)(external link) — European Commission

Pillar III of Horizon Europe is focused on scaling up breakthrough and disruptive innovations and transferring science into innovative companies. The European Innovation Council (EIC) is a flagship initiative under Horizon Europe Pillar III, which aims to support breakthrough innovations with high growth potential and scale them up through three main funding schemes: the EIC Pathfinder, EIC Transition, and EIC Accelerator. The EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition schemes support innovations from early-stage research to technology maturation and commercialisation. The EIC Accelerator fund provides funding and support for startups and SMEs to develop and scale their innovations.

New Zealand’s Horizon Europe association covers only Pillar II, and New Zealand remains a non-associated third country in Pillar III. As with the other parts of the programme, participation is open to entities from most countries, and New Zealand entities are eligible to participate. However, aside from exceptional cases, they would generally need to cover their own participation costs.

Note that the MBIE top-up scheme does not apply to Pillar III.

European Partnerships in Horizon Europe are long-term initiatives between the European Commission and private and/or public partners that jointly support the development and implementation of a programme of research and innovation activities. They are one of the key implementation tools of Horizon Europe. The overall objective of is to avoid duplication of investments and accelerate the development and deployment of innovative solutions. The strategic goals and research priorities of each partnership are jointly defined by the Commission and the partners involved.

Although Partnerships are established across all three Pillars of Horizon Europe, most (47 out of 58) sit within Pillar II, the part to which New Zealand is associated. As with the rest of Pillar II, the Partnerships are open to participation from a wide range of stakeholders, including research institutions, businesses, NGOs, and public authorities. The established Partnerships span a wide range of areas, including health, climate change, digital transformation, and sustainable development.

Participating in partnerships

There are three main ways to be involved in the EU Partnerships

1. Becoming a partner
2. Participating in the partnership’s activities
3. Joining governance/advisory bodies

While all of these pathways are open to New Zealand, the second pathway, i.e., applying for funding opportunities under the direction of the partnership, is the readiest form of participation. New Zealand researchers and organisations are eligible to participate in their activities, and membership of the partnership is not a prerequisite for participation.

Types of partnerships

Three types of partnerships exist within Horizon Europe Pillar II: co-programmed, co-funded, and institutionalised. They differ in the legal basis of their formation, structure and governance, and modes of implementation.

Co-programmed partnerships

Co-programmed partnerships are established by memoranda of understanding (MoU) between the Commission and mostly private partners (often large industry associations). The MoU specifies the partnership’s objectives, the commitments from both sides, and the governance structure. They are typically initiated by the European Commission, but their strategic goals and research priorities are jointly defined by the Commission and the partners.

Co-programmed partnerships are implemented through a combination of individual projects and other activities, such as joint workshops and networking events. The individual projects are published in the main work programmes and governed by the general rules for Pillar II programmes, such as eligibility, consortium composition, and funding rates.

Private or public entities can become partners in Co-programmed partnerships by joining the respective association.

How to participate

Calls are published in the main work programmes, and identified as being one of the co-programmed topics in the title and topic description (an example is here).

Example of published call(external link) — European Commission

Institutionalised Partnerships

Institutionalised Partnerships are established through new EU legislation and involve the creation of dedicated implementing structures (Joint Undertakings). They are only established when other types of partnership would not be sufficient to achieve the desired objectives or impacts. Institutionalised Partnerships are based on a Council Regulation (Article 187) or a Decision by the European Parliament and Council (Article 185).(external link)

The Joint Undertakings have governing bodies which are composed of representatives from the Commission, the Member States, and partners, which are responsible for setting the strategic direction of the partnership and overseeing its implementation. It is possible to join an Institutionalised Partnership after it is established through a decision of the Governing body.

New Zealand entities can participate in the calls published by these partnerships without needing to join the Partnerships themselves, with eligibility for most calls being the same as the rest of Pillar II. Associated countries can also be represented in the Governance bodies through State Representative Groups, without joining the Partnership.

How to participate

Joint Undertakings publish their own work programmes, which are available through the Partnerships’ webpages. These are aggregated with all other calls in the related Clusters in the Funding and Tenders Portal.

Co-funded partnerships

Co-funded partnerships are based on a Grant Agreement between the European Commission and a consortium of partners, usually made up of research funding agencies and other public authorities of EU Member States and Associated Countries. The intention of co-funded partnerships is to align national programmes between participating countries, and the national funders provide most of the funding involved (the Commission typically co-finances 30 percent). Co-funded partnerships are initiated by the partners themselves, and are open to the participation of any public or private entity (making financial or in-kind contributions).

The consortium partners jointly design a common programme of research and innovation activities that are implemented by the partnership through joint transnational calls. The consortium partners take part in the call preparation and development, promotion and dissemination, evaluation and selection, and monitoring activities, and can also participate in other activities such as training and capacity building (which can comprise in-kind contributions).

There are two pathways by which New Zealand partners could participate in these activities:

1. With a New Zealand funder on board.
   • If a New Zealand funder joins a co-funded partnership and commits funding, then New Zealand partners would be eligible to participate through the joint call for proposals. However, without a commitment of funds from New Zealand funder, New Zealand partners would usually not be able to participate in the actions funded by the partnership.
2. Without a New Zealand funder on board.
   • New Zealand partners can join a co-fund consortium as an associate partner, making financial or in-kind contributions to the partnership. They can take part in the activities of the partnership itself, but not necessarily in the actions funded by the partnership. New Zealand partners may have to self-fund their participation in the partnership, although there are circumstances where a New Zealand partner could be a net beneficiary and receive funding from the partnership (for in-kind contributions). The New Zealand partner would not contribute to meeting the minimum criteria for the consortium size or composition.

Intellectual Property (IP) in Horizon Europe is governed by comprehensive rules designed to ensure that research and innovation activities are protected and utilised effectively. Participants are expected to balance the protection and exploitation of their own innovations with the sharing of knowledge, such as the requirement for open access to scientific publications. The European Commission’s guidance states that ‘beneficiaries must make best use of all relevant knowledge and IP to maximise the benefits from the collaboration and to develop and successfully commercialise innovations that enhance competitiveness and growth’.

Horizon Europe grant agreements include an obligation to ensure exploitation of results, whether through publication, product creation, service provision, licensing. Preparation of a plan for dissemination and exploitation of results is part of the project development process. The European Commission asserts no ownership of IP arising from HE projects, and the ownership of IP remains with the partners that created the results.

There are two agreements all partners sign for participation in a Horizon Europe project: the Grant Agreement, and the Consortium Agreement. Issues around IP within the consortium are thoroughly considered from the outset through the Consortium Agreement. The Commission publishes guidance and minimum standards for Consortium Agreements.

Useful resources on IP

IP guides from the European IP Helpdesk(external link) — European Commission

Your guide to intellectual property management in Horizon Europe - Publications Office of the EU(external link) — European Commission

IP in EU funded projects (H2020/HEU) slides [PDF, 2.4MB] (external link) — European Commission

Horizon Europe programme guide [PDF, 1.1MB](external link) — includes general information about IP

The European Commission aims to promote gender balance and address gender inequalities in research and innovation, and thus Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) are mandatory for some types of entities applying for Horizon Europe funding (Note that the GEP is required by the time of signing a Grant Agreement, not to submit a proposal). A GEP is required for the following types of legal entities:

• Public bodies, such as research funding bodies, national ministries or other public authorities, including public-for-profit organisations;
• Higher education establishments, public and private;
• Research organisations, public and private.

Gender Equality Plan requirements

The GEP must:

• Be a public document (at the time of signing a Grant Agreement)
• Have dedicated resources for design, implementation and monitoring
• Include arrangements for data collection and monitoring
• Be supported by training and capacity building

In addition to the four mandatory requirements above, the following five content-related (thematic) areas are recommended:

• Work-life balance and organisational culture
• Gender balance in leadership and decision-making
• Gender equality in recruitment and career progression
• Integration of the gender dimension into research and teaching content
• Measures against gender-based violence, including sexual harassment

The Commission’s guidance around GEPs includes the following useful points:

• An effective GEP should identify the problems it seeks to address, their causes, and desired outcomes.
• It should detail the activities required to achieve the aims, and indicators to monitor progress.
• It should engage the whole organisation, from senior leaders to staff (and students, if applicable), and stakeholders.

Resources for preparing a GEP

• European Commission’s Gender Equality strategy(external link)
• Horizon Europe guidance on gender equality plans - Publications Office of the EU (europa.eu)(external link)
• EC presentation on the GEP requirements(external link)
• The General Annexes to the Work Programme [PDF, 571KB](external link)
• The Gender Equality in Academia and Research (GEAR) tool(external link) from the European Institute for Gender Equality (part of their gender mainstreaming initiative) -- step-by-step guide on how to design and implement a GEP