Horizon Europe Pillar II funds transnational research and innovation projects that address major societal challenges and support European industrial competitiveness. Within this pillar, three key action types are used: Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA). These instruments differ in purpose, expected technology readiness level (TRL), and funding rates.

Research and Innovation Actions (RIA)
RIAs support projects that aim to generate new knowledge or explore new or improved technologies at early or intermediate TRLs (TRL 2–5/6).
Funding rate for AAU: 100% of eligible direct costs.
Overhead (indirect costs): +25% of eligible direct costs (standard Horizon Europe overhead).

Innovation Actions (IA)
IAs target activities closer to market uptake, including prototyping, testing, piloting and large‑scale demonstrations at higher TRLs (TRL approximately 5–8).
Funding rate for AAU: 100% of eligible direct costs (AAU is a non‑profit organisation).
Overhead: +25% of eligible direct costs.
(For‑profit partners receive 70% direct costs + 25% overhead)

Coordination and Support Actions (CSA)
CSAs fund coordination, networking, dissemination, and policy‑support activities rather than research itself. They include activities such as drafting roadmaps, developing training platforms, aligning national and European priorities, standardization, and awareness-raising campaigns. 
Funding rate for AAU: 100% of eligible direct costs.
Overhead: +25% of eligible direct costs.

Information on how to apply can be found here.

To ensure high‑quality support throughout the proposal process, we strongly encourage potential coordinators to contact your local funding advisor as early as possible. Your local funding advisor (your first point of contact) will facilitate the contact with Fundraising and Project Management. Early engagement allows us to provide the full range of support services and to plan the process effectively.

Internal support deadlines for identifying potential coordinator candidates who would like support from Fundraising & Project Management are as follows:

• 1 March for applications with deadlines in Quarter 3 (Jul–Sep) or Quarter 4 (Oct–Dec) of the same year.
• 1 October for applications with deadlines in Quarter 1 (Jan–Mar) or Quarter 2 (Apr–Jun) of the following year.

See more on our support & deadlines overview or on Plandisc

Applications that do not meet these internal support deadlines cannot be guaranteed support from Fundraising & Project Management.

AAU Seed Money can be used to support the preparation of an application, including activities such as proposal writing, meetings with potential consortium partners, and involvement of an external consultant.

AAU Seed Money is available both at faculty level and through AAU’s missions. For details on available funding amounts, application deadlines, and specific faculty requirements, please contact your local funding advisor.

The profile of a potential coordinator should be based on the following criteria:

• Minimum associate professor. CV, including list of publications, is not vital.
• Project management experience (not necessarily from EU project).
• Has a project idea and/or a scientific profile with clear relevance to a specific topic.
• Is up to date with international state-of-the-art in his/her field of research.
• Is not necessarily a leader in his/her field of research but should be internationally recognized within the field.
• Has experience in writing applications in English (not necessarily EU projects).
• Has time, as well as the desire and willingness to be responsible for an EU project.
• Has aligned his/her resources with the head of department.
• Has an EU network or is interested in creating it (i.e., preferably a good networker).
•  Agrees to be the primary penholder in the application.
• Has perhaps been an EU evaluator and thereby gained a good insight into what it takes to write a successful EU application.

There are no regular information meetings scheduled at AAU. Instead, events are announced on an ongoing basis on our event page. An overview of the European Commission’s events is available here.

There are no courses available at the moment.

Fundraising & Project Management offers extended support for Horizon Europe RIA/IA/CSA coordinator applications. The service is designed to guide researchers through the entire proposal process - from early idea development to final submission - and to ensure both strategic alignment and high-quality proposal preparation. Our support covers:

Meetings

Throughout the entire application process, following the internal support cutoff dates, Fundraising & Project Management offers a structured series of meetings designed to guide and support applicants from initial idea development to final submission:

• Get Started Meeting

This meeting establishes a mutual agreement on support, expectations, and the involvement of both Fundraising & Project Management and the local funding support team at department level. The applicant receives guidance on the application timeline, the application process, and the possibility of administrative project management provided by Fundraising & Project Management. If relevant, a short introduction to Horizon Europe can also be included.

• 360-Degree Inspection Meeting

In this meeting, the applicant presents the project idea using the 360-degree template, followed by an  open andconstructive discussion of the project concept, consortium, value creation, and implementation strategy. The meeting helps identify potential gaps, strengthen the project narrative and assess whether the chosen funding instrument is the right fit.

The focus is on early strategic reflection - not to conduct a formal review - and on strengthening impact thinking from the start.

• Bi-Weekly Status Meetings

Following the 360-degree inspection meeting, Fundraising & Project Management offers bi-weekly status meetings to ensure continued progress. These meetings are used to monitor developments, align on next steps, address emerging challenges, and coordinate support between the applicant, the department, and Fundraising & Project Management.

• F&P Project Management Meeting

If the applicant wishes for Fundraising & Project Management to take on the administrative project management, this meeting will be used to discuss and agree on the specific arrangement between Fundraising & Project Management and the department.

Tools

Fundraising & Project Management offers the preparation of a timeline to ensure a smooth and well‑coordinated application process.

In addition, applicants have access to a range of tools for Horizon Europe – RIA/IA/CSA, as available in the Funding Toolbox, e.g.: 

• Annotated template for Part B.
• Gantt charts and PERT diagrams to support planning and implementation design.
• Budget templates to help structure and calculate project finances.
• PPT for the first consortium meeting – a customizable presentation template to support alignment and initiate structured collaboration among consortium partners.

Set-up of communication Platform

Fundraising & Project Management facilitates the setup of a dedicated Microsoft Teams collaboration space for the consortium. This includes creating both internal AAU channels and external partner channels, ensuring a secure and well‑structured platform for communication, document sharing, and coordination throughout the application process.

Proposal intelligence 

Fundraising & Project Management offers proposal intelligence to help researchers strategically position their project ideas and build strong, competitive proposals. RIA, IA and CSA proposals are submitted at topic level and each topic addresses a 'specific' EU policy. When projects are funded they are expected to have an impact on the specific EU policy. Proposal Intelligence involves two main activities. 

• Identifying the background EU policies and the expert groups contributing to the topic.
• Identifying the EU policy groups who will use the results of the research.
• Identifying previously funded EU projects in related areas

These elements are tailored to the specific call and project idea, ensuring that applicants gain a clear strategic overview and a solid foundation for shaping both the consortium and the proposal.

Part B – Text drafts

Fundraising & Project Management offers support in preparing draft text for selected horizontal sections of Part B:

• Open Science
• Data Management
• WP Management

This allows the researcher to focus more effectively on the scientific parts of the proposal while maintaining high quality across all components.

Successful applications

Where possible, Fundraising & Project Management shares relevant successful AAU applications, if permission has been granted by the AAU researchers involved. These examples give applicants insight into structure, level of detail, and strategic framing, and can serve as valuable inspiration when developing their own proposals.

Assistance with Part A in the Funding & Tenders Portal

Fundraising & Project Management provides support with gathering and entering all required Part A information in the Funding & Tenders Portal. This includes:

• Collecting PIC (Participant Identification Code) numbers and all mandatory Part A data from each consortium partner.
• Preparing draft text for the Ethics section, ensuring it fits the structure and requirements of Part A.
• Entering and structuring budget information in the Part A administrative forms.
• Assistance with general administrative inputs, such as declarations and other compulsory fields.

This service helps ensure that all administrative elements in Part A are complete, accurate, and compliant - while reducing the administrative burden on the researcher.

Review of application 

Fundraising & Project Management offers structured proposal feedback at least twice during the application process, supplemented by continuous advice throughout the writing phase. This includes:

• Two in‑depth reviews of the application, each providing concrete suggestions for changes, additions, clarifications, or strategic considerations.
• Feedback aimed at strengthening coherence, alignment with call expectations, clarity of narrative, and overall competitiveness.

These reviews support the applicant in refining the proposal and ensuring a high‑quality final submission.

Submission

Fundraising & Project Management offers administrative support related to the submission process in the Funding & Tenders Portal. This includes assistance with understanding and resolving submission‑related questions, as well as hands‑on support during the final submission steps to ensure that the proposal is correctly completed and submitted on time.

Budget

The budget is managed at the department level, with Fundraising & Project Management providing guidance, recommendations, and alignment support as needed. For further information, please contact your local funding advisor.

In addition, Fundraising & Project Management facilitates a budget dialogue involving the researcher and the local budget manager to ensure a coherent, compliant, and well‑coordinated application budget. 

The application support process is evaluated twice a year by means of an online survey to coordinators.

Fundraising & Project Management can assist from the evaluation result through to the project’s completion. Fundraising & Project Management offers support with Grant Agreement Preparation (GAP) and administrative project management

To see what instruments our project managers offer support for, please refer to our Fundingsupport & deadlines excel-sheet.