Horizon Europe, including ERC and MSCA
Horizon Europe is EU's framework program for research and innovation for the period 2021-2027. The program is divided into three pillars:
- Excellent science with investments in ground-breaking, curiosity-driven research under the European Research Council (ERC), mobility funding instruments under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and research infrastructure
- Global challenges and industrial competitiveness that supports thematic research and innovation in collaboration projects.
- Open innovation that, among other things, supports the development of ground-breaking and innovative technologies with commercialization potential.
Calls for proposals are published on the European Commission's website Funding and Tenders. The call deadlines are scattered and vary between the various sub-programs. Contact the EU advisers if you want help finding relevant announcements.
See the European Commission's website for more information on Horizon Europe. The Research Council of Norway also has informative pages about the program.
Horizon 2020 (2014-2020)
Horizon 2020 is the predecessor to Horizon Europe. The program was completed in 2020, but many of the projects are still running. See the European Commission's website for more information on Horizon 2020.
COST
COST is a European research and technology collaboration where the purpose is to build networks. COST provides support for networking activities such as workshops, conferences, short-term research stays, publishing and evaluations. The research activities must be funded by other sources. COST is bottom-up, this means that researchers can create a network, based on their own research interests and ideas, by submitting a proposal to the COST Open Call. The proposal can be in any science field. COST has two open calls per year. See the COSTprogram's website for information on announcements.
COST can be the gateway to international cooperation. In many cases the networks lead to proposals for Horizon Europe or other European programs. COST is relevant for researchers at all career stages, however, researchers early in their careers can particularly benefit from participating in COST networks.
ERA-NET / Partnership programmes
ERA-nets are European partnerships where the purpose is to coordinate different countries' national research programs. The individual ERA-nets have open calls where research institutions and other actors can apply for project funding. The calls are usually based on thematic challenges. Each country finances its own share of the participation. See the individual ERA-net for information about calls. New partnerships will be established under Horizon Europe, see the European Commission's website for more information. Some of the previous ERA-nets will be implemented in the new partnerships.
Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs)
Joint programming Initiatives (JPIs) are country-to-country cooperation in which the participating countries enter into a partnership with a strategic research agenda and common visions. The individual JPIs have open calls where research institutions and other actors can apply for project funding. The calls are usually based on various thematic challenges. Each country finances its own share of the participation. See the individual JPI for information about calls. A loist of JPIs can be found on the EU-Commissions web pages. Some of the JPIs will be implemented in new partnership programmes established under Horizon Europe. For information about the new partnership programmes, see the European Commission's website.
Erasmus +
In addition to student exchanges, Erasmus + offers funding for collaborative projects with companies, organizations and universities in countries inside and outside the EU. There are good opportunities for international networking and the development of innovative projects. See Erasmus + .no or NMBU's website about Erasmus + for information about calls. You can also contact The Department of Academic Affairs at NMBU.
EURATOM
Euratom is the EU's radiation protection program. Euratom is not covered by the EEA Agreement. This means that Norwegian actors participating in Euratom projects do not receive funding directly from the EU and must apply for funding for their participation from the Research Council of Norway. Follow the link for more information on funding for Norwegian participation in Euratom.
EEA grants
The EEA funds represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to reduce economic and social disparities and to strengthen bilateral relations with 16 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. The research programs can fund both research projects, mobility/educational collaboration, business development and competence and experience sharing. The EEA programs have open calls. Applicants must be from the partner country, but each project must have at least one Norwegian partner. For more information, see the website for the EEA funds and the Research Council's website.