Horizon Europe Proposal Writing Workshop for First-Time Applicants

Are you planning to apply for a Horizon Europe grant and need clear, practical guidance on how to write a competitive proposal?

This interactive workshop is designed for those with beginner or lower-intermediate experience with Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation funding programme. Whether you are applying soon or planning ahead, you'll gain a clear roadmap to navigate the Horizon Europe proposal process.

We’ll draw on concrete examples from active Calls for Proposals, such as the Cluster 5 (Climate, Energy, Mobility) and Cluster 6 (Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment) Calls. At the same time, the methodologies we discuss are relevant and applicable across all Horizon Europe Clusters.

Workshop Format

A compact, hands-on training held in a small group (max. 12 participants) to ensure a tailored and interactive experience. You’ll receive step-by-step instructions on how to prepare a strong proposal, with room for your questions throughout. There will be mini exercises to apply your knowledge right away.

Indicative agenda:

13h00 – 13h10 Welcome & Introduction

- Understanding the Horizon Europe programme logic- Key Horizon success criteria for the proposal evaluation: Excellence, Impact, Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation

13h10 – 13h20 Starting your application in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal

13h20 – 13h30 Part A (Administrative Form) of the application template

- Participant details, gender equality plan, ethics and security

13h30 – 13h40

Operational and Financial Capacity - Understanding the requirements

- Required declarations and support documents

Filling Out Part B – The Technical Description - Aligning your proposal content with what evaluators expect

13h40 – 14h00 Describing the Excellence of your project

14h00 – 14h30 Demonstrating the 'Impact' of your project

- Understanding Horizon Europe’s impact logic- Planning dissemination, exploitation, communication

14h30 – 14h40 Short Break

14h40 – 15h10 Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation

- Building Work Packages, incl. tasks, deliverables and milestones- Team roles and internal management- Risk management and barriers to impact

15h10 – 15h40 How to plan Work Packages, Activities, Milestones and Deliverables

15h40 – 16h10 Brief introduction to Budget Planning

- Budget categories: personnel, travel, subcontracting, indirect costs

16h10 – 16h30 Wrap-Up: Proposal Must-Haves & Final Q&A