EU funding
Explore EU support for research and innovation.
EU programmes can support collaborative research, SME-led international development and high-risk scale-up. They require a close fit with the call, capable people and enough time to prepare; collaborative programmes also need the right partners.
Where to start
Which EU route fits your project?
Some programmes support international research partnerships; others support individual innovative companies. Start with your project's stage, ambition and funding needs, then check the requirements of the relevant programme. If none fits, an Irish route may be the better first conversation — that is a prompt to test another route, not an eligibility finding.
Five prompts
Is an EU route worth examining?
Work through these before committing preparation time. A "no" to any of them is worth resolving before a call deadline forces the question.
- For collaborative programmes, does the project benefit from international partners?
- Is there a work-programme topic whose expected outcome closely matches it?
- Are the ambition and technical risk proportionate to the programme?
- Can the organisation commit capable people throughout application and delivery?
- Are consortium, finance, reporting, IP and commercialisation responsibilities understood?
Distinguish the routes
Four very different EU conversations.
Horizon Europe
For projects matching a defined work-programme topic and normally involving an international consortium.
Official programme portal →Eurostars
For market-oriented international R&D led by an innovative SME, with separate national funding conditions to check.
Official Eurostars route →EIC Accelerator
For a start-up or SME developing and scaling a breakthrough innovation with substantial market-creation potential.
Official EIC route →EIC STEP Scale Up
A highly specialised equity route in critical technologies, for companies preparing a much larger private investment round.
Official STEP platform →EU readiness
Know what an application and delivery commitment will require.
Call fit is only one part. Delivery capacity, IP, finance and — for collaborative calls — partner roles matter from the start.
- Exact call identifier and deadline.
- Expected outcome and scope from the official call.
- A one-paragraph explanation of project fit.
- For collaborative calls, the consortium lead and each partner's role.
- Technical work packages and dependencies.
- Market, deployment and exploitation pathway.
- IP ownership and access questions.
- Budget, co-funding and cash-flow implications.
- Proposal-writing and delivery capacity.
- Ethics, security, regulatory or data obligations.
- An internal go/no-go date before the official deadline.
- National contact or agency discussion completed.
Briefings
EU programme briefings.
No EU briefing is listed just now.
See the events calendar for forthcoming briefings, or contact IRDG about this topic.
Considering an EU call?
Tell us the call and the project behind it.
Give us the call identifier if you have one, any partners in place and the deadline you are working to. We will help you test the fit and identify the national contact worth speaking to.