Library FAQ
What activities are eligible for funding?
Eligible activities are those described in the call conditions. Applications are eligible only if their content corresponds wholly or in part to the topic description. Projects must focus exclusively on civil applications and must avoid prohibited activities l...
What are the award criteria for Coordination and Support Actions?
Proposals are evaluated on Excellence, Impact, and Quality and efficiency of the implementation. Each criterion considers specific aspects described in the Work Programme (e.g., clarity of objectives, pathways to impact, work plan quality).
What are the eligibility rules for Coordination and Support Actions (CSA)?
To participate as beneficiaries (or affiliated entities) in CSAs, legal entities must be established in a Member State or Associated Country unless the specific call/topic conditions provide otherwise.
What are the ethics requirements for applicants?
Projects must comply with ethical principles and applicable law. Applicants must complete an ethics self-assessment in their application. Projects with ethics issues will undergo an ethics review and may be subject to specific ethics requirements.
What are the indicative timelines for evaluation and grant signature?
Information on evaluation outcomes is typically provided around 5 months from the submission deadline. Indicative signing of grant agreements is around 8 months from the deadline.
What are the requirements for mono-beneficiary and multi-beneficiary proposals?
Mono-beneficiary applicants must be established in a Member State or Associated Country. Multi-beneficiary proposals must be submitted by a consortium of at least three independent legal entities, each in a different country: at least one in a Member State and...
What happens if a project involves classified or sensitive information?
Projects involving classified and/or sensitive information must undergo a security appraisal to authorise funding and may be subject to specific security rules, including rules for protecting EU-classified information (see Commission Decision 2015/444).
What is the evaluation and ranking procedure?
Proposals are checked for admissibility and eligibility, then evaluated for operational capacity and award criteria by an evaluation committee of independent external experts (or, where indicated, partly/fully including EU institution representatives) and rank...
What must applicants do if their project includes financial support to third parties?
If allowed by the call/topic, applicants must clearly describe objectives and expected results for the third-party support and comply with EU standards on transparency and openness of calls.
What specific activities are explicitly prohibited?
Projects must not aim at human cloning for reproductive purposes; intend to modify the genetic heritage of humans in a way that makes changes heritable; or intend to create human embryos solely for research or stem cell procurement.
What supporting documents and annexes are required at submission?
Annexes and supporting documents must be uploaded via the submission system in the formats allowed (PDF or other permitted formats). Coordinators must confirm mandate and correctness and that participants meet EU funding conditions.
Which countries' entities are eligible for funding under the EIC Work Programme?
Entities must be established in Member States of the EU (including outermost regions); Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to Member States; countries associated to Horizon Europe – Pillar III; and certain low- and middle-income countries. Other l...
Can projects involving TRES SECRET UE / EU TOP SECRET information be funded?
No. Projects involving information classified TRES SECRET UE/EU TOP SECRET (or equivalent) cannot be funded.
Can tasks involving EU-classified information be subcontracted?
Only with prior written approval by the European Commission, and then only to entities established in a Member State or in a non-EU country with a security of information agreement with the EU (or an administrative arrangement with the Commission).
Can the EIC object to transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results?
Yes. Unless otherwise provided in specific call conditions, the EIC and SME Executive Agency may, up to four years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or the exclusive licensing of results if the results could reasonably be expected...
How is financial capacity assessed for EIC Pathfinder and Transition applicants?
A financial capacity check is done based on documents uploaded in the Participant Register (e.g. profit and loss account, balance sheet, business plan, audit report). The check is normally done for the coordinator and if the requested grant amount is more than...
How is operational capacity assessed for applicants?
For EIC Pathfinder and Transition, operational capacity is assessed during evaluation of the award criterion ‘quality and efficiency of the implementation’ based on competence, experience and operational resources; public bodies, Member State organisations and...
How must RESTREINT UE / EU RESTRICTED information be handled?
Information classified RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED may be accessed and handled only by persons who have a need-to-know and have been briefed on the applicable security rules.
What anti-money laundering and tax-related rules does the EIC Fund follow?
The EIC Fund applies EU rules, policies and procedures addressing money laundering, terrorism financing, tax avoidance, tax fraud and tax evasion as contained in Article 155(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation, including prohibitions on entering into operations...
What are the expectations for AI-based systems regarding safety and explainability?
AI-based systems must be reliable, minimise unintentional and unexpected harm, prevent unacceptable harm and safeguard physical and mental integrity of humans; they must also provide a suitable explanation of their decision-making whenever the system can have...
What are the handling requirements for information classified CONFIDENTIEL UE / EU CONFIDENTIAL or above?
This information may be created or accessed only on premises of entities with facility security clearing from the competent National Security Authority, handled only in a secured area accredited by that authority, and accessed and handled only by persons with...
What elements must a Gender Equality Plan include?
A GEP must be a formal document published on the institution’s website and signed by top management; commit dedicated resources and gender expertise; collect sex/gender disaggregated data and report annually; provide awareness-raising/training on gender equali...
What IP retention is required for compliance with open science requirements?
EIC-funded projects (or authors) must retain sufficient intellectual property rights to comply with all open science requirements, including specific licensing requirements.
What Open Science requirements apply to EIC Pathfinder projects?
EIC Pathfinder projects must provide immediate open access to peer-reviewed publications via a trusted repository, develop and update a data management plan, and manage digital research data in line with the FAIR principles. Data are open in principle but exce...