EU and international Research Support
Given the need for clarification of eligibility conditions and considering the in-house regulations, financing arrangement, and possible exploitation rights, applications for third party funding should be registered online with the Research support & EU office at least four weeks prior to the intended funding application.
We ask you to get in touch with the Research support & EU office in a timely manner especially when legally binding signatures, letters of support, Letters of Intent, or similar are required from the UMG governing policies.
EU research funding
The Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP) is one of the most crucial EU-instruments in the area of life science.
The scientific and technological targets, research priorities, and research activities as well as the financial framework are laid in the framework programme.
Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe
The current Framework Programme 8 (2014-2020) "Horizon 2020 - Framework Programme for Research and Innovation" was announced in June 21, 2011. Horizon 2020 consists of three pillars, which are each dedicated to one main topic:
The first pillar, "Excellent Science", focuses on basic science. The second pillar is "Industrial Leadership". The third pillar, "Societal challenges", funds potential solutions to social and economic problems such as Health, demographic change and wellbeing (SC 1).
Horizon Europe:
The framework programme 9 “Horizon Europe”, which will cover the years 2021-2027, is being prepared in parallel to Horizon 2020.
You can find current funding opportunities in the EU portal Funding & Tender Opportunities.
European Research Council (ERC)
The European Research Council (ERC) is an institution of the European Commission. It funds pioneering projects from a variety of fields.
Researchers from any field can compete for the grants, as scientific excellence is the most important criterion.
- Starting Grant: Supports up-and-coming independent research leaders (2 – 7 years post PhD) for 5 years maximum.
- Consolidator Grant: Supports researchers at the stage at which they are consolidating their own independent research team or programme (7 – 12 years post PhD) for 5 years maximum.
- Advanced Grant: Supports researchers who have already established themselves as independent research leaders in their own right for 5 years maximum.
- Proof of Concept: Top-up funding open only to existing ERC grant holders to bring their research ideas closer to market for 18 months maximum.
- Synergy Grant: Supports 2 to 4 researchers and their teams working together for 6 years maximum.
Additional information and current calls can be found on the ERC homepage and in the EU portal Funding & Tender Opportunities.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Marie-Skłodowska-Curie-Actions (MSCA) support mobility across countries and disciplines as well as the career development of researchers and technical and management research & innovation staff. MSCA are also meant to make scientific careers more attractive. MSCA are not limited to any one scientific discipline, as they present a bottom up approach. There are five different actions:
- Innovative Training Networks (ITN): Drive scientific excellence and innovation. They bring together universities, research institutes and other sectors from across the world to train researchers to doctorate level.
- Individual fellowships (IF): Are great opportunities if you are an experienced researcher looking to give your career a boost by working abroad.
- Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE): Funds exchanges of personnel between academic, industrial and commercial organizations throughout the world.
- Co-funding of Regional, National and International Programmes (COFUND): COFUND provides organisations with additional financial support for their own researcher training and career development programmes.
- The European Researchers' Night (NIGHT): This is a Europe-wide public event dedicated to popular science and fun learning.
Current calls can be found in the portal Funding and Tender Opportunities under „Search for funding and tenders“.
Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)
“Future and Emerging Technologies“ funds excellent and visionary research with the goal of initiating radically new and innovative lines of technologies. FET targets especially high potentials and research-oriented SMEs. FET projects in Horizon 2020 are open for researchers from all disciplines. FET focuses on cooperative research that is goal-oriented, science-driven, cutting edge, and interdisciplinary.
Under Horizon 2020, FET actions are part of the "Excellent Science" pillar and comprise three different lines of funding:
FET Open
FET Proactive
FET Flagships
Current calls can be found in the portal Funding and Tender Opportunities under „Search for funding and tenders“.
Health, demographic change and wellbeing (SC1)
Calls in the field of health can be largely found in the 3rd pillar under Horizon 2020, the Societal Challenges, especially in Societal Challenge 1: Health, demographic change and wellbeing. Calls for proposals of the European Commission are topic-oriented and are published as work programmes. Additionally, Joint Technology Initiatives, ERA-Nets, Joint Programming Initiatives such as IMI 2, and initiatives according to Article 185 will publish their own calls. Besides the classic EU project funding, funding in public-private or public-public partnerships is also possible.
Current calls can be found in the portal Funding and Tender Opportunities under „Search for funding and tenders“.
Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 (IMI 2)
Die IMI 2 (Innovative Medicines Initiative) is a public-private partnership between the European Union (represented by the European Commission) and the (bio)pharmaceutical industry (represented by EFPIA, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations). IMI 2 posts calls for proposals independently of Horizon 2020.
IMI 2 runs from 2014 to 2024, during which the European Commission has budgeted €1.638 bn from the work programme Health, demographic change and wellbeing (SC 1).
Several calls for proposals are published each year.
International research funding
In addition to the framework programme of the European Union there are numerous international research funding programmes with quite high approval rates. The Research support & EU office will of course advise and support you with your funding application.