UK Research Office Visit – A Horizon Europe Overview

Malgorzata Czerwiec, European Advisor from the UK Research Office (UKRO) led a virtual visit for the University of Westminster on 2nd March 2022. The UK Research Office, a European Office of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), aims to maximise UK engagement with EU funding schemes. Its European Advisors keep track of the latest developments in EU funding programmes and provide answers and guidance for its subscribing institutions.

Each year, subscribing institutions can host a bespoke day-long visit from their European Advisor, who will share their knowledge and experience in how to apply for, win and manage European funding. Due to the pandemic, this was the first we have had at the University since 2018.

Please find the slides from their speaker’s PowerPoint here and a recording of the presentation here. The recording is quite lengthy, so you may wish to refer back to the programme to isolate the parts of the recording most relevant to you.

Below are highlights from the day and some of the key take-home messages from Malgorzata, plus some upcoming events and useful resource links.

What is Horizon Europe?

The EU’s flagship programme for research and innovation running from 2021-2027, with an overall budget of €95.5 billion. The ambition for the programme is to shape the future of Europe and making Horizon Europe the most ambitious research and innovation programme ever introduced. The aim is:

To create opportunities for the world of tomorrow from the challenges of today and:

Strengthen the European Research Area (ERA)
Boost Europe’s innovation capacity, competitiveness and growth
Deliver on citizens’ priorities

The structure is illustrated in the diagram below:

Are the UK eligible to apply after Brexit?

The short answer is yes – the UK agreed to associate to Horizon Europe, Euratom and Copernicus in December 2020. The European Commission’s Q&A confirms this, and registering with UKRO will ensure you receive the most up to date news on UK participation.

Benefits of the UKRO portal

It is easy to create your account and sign up for free latest news, opportunities and training on European funding via the UKRO portal. Here you can access handy factsheets on all the Horizon Europe schemes, including factsheets on each ‘cluster’, such as this one on Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society, featuring many calls relevant to UoW researchers. It is recommended you set up weekly alerts to your inbox so you don’t miss out on any events or training opportunities.

Registering as an expert for the European Commission

It can be incredibly beneficial to your own research to be part of evaluation panels for other researchers’ proposals, and by joining the European Commission’s database of external experts, you get to assess some of the most cutting-edge bids out there. If this interests you, there is a recorded webinar on becoming an expert evaluator on the UKRO website here. You can find more information and register here.

Horizon Europe Missions

There is a dedicated Work Programme for Missions, with dedicated calls and budget, which sits in Pillar 2 of the overall Horizon Europe structure. Missions are a new, ambitious instrument to tackle some of our main challenges. They set clear goals to be achieved in a specific timeframe. They will deliver impact by putting research and innovation into a new role, combined with new forms of governance and collaboration, as well as by engaging citizens. The webpage here is very informative and there is also an FAQ and recording from a webinar in 2021. Missions include: Adaptation to Climate Change; Cancer; Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030; 100 Climate neutral and smart cities by 2030; A Soil Deal for Europe.

2022 Work Programme Update

We are expecting an update to the Work Programme in May 2022. The Research and Knowledge Exchange Office will communicate with researchers about this, but you can also check the UKRO Portal for updates.

Get Involved!

Malgorzata is happy to be contacted by any UoW researcher wanting to discuss an idea for funding and check the remit. Contact her here.

All Horizon Europe calls are opened on the Funding and Tenders Portal (FTOP). Anyone can access but many features including submissions need an EC Portal account –these are easy to set up. Please contact your Research Development Partner for assistance in navigating the portal if you are unsure.

Upcoming Events

UKRO Webinar: An Introduction to COST – 17^th March 11am

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 Call Information Webinar Series – Session 1: Overview and Eligibility Rules – 24^th April 2022 10am

Check the UKRO Events page for any newly publicised events and for recordings of previous events.

Useful links

Enterprise Europe Network – brings together experts from member organisations that are renowned for their excellence in business support.

List of UK National Contact Points – for advice on schemes within Horizon Europe.

CORDIS – search engine for EU-funded projects.

FTOP Partner Search function – search for partners for EU funding

COST Actions – help connect research initiatives across Europe and beyond and enable researchers and innovators to grow their ideas in any science and technology field by sharing them with their peers. COST Actions are bottom-up networks with a duration of four years that boost research, innovation and careers.