The Horizon 2020 programme is open to many different kinds of stakeholders: universities, industry, research institutes, local authorities, museums, science centres and non-profit organisations… Normally, the requirement is that a project must have participants from at least three different countries and Horizon 2020 is also open to participants outside the EU.

Writing a funding application for a project under Horizon 2020 is not an easy task. Preparations should start well in advance and begin at least six months before the deadline.
You can participate either as a coordinator, i.e. the project manager, or as a partner, with or without responsibility for specific work packages. For those new to EU projects, it is best to participate as a partner in a project.
On the European Commission’s website there is a step-by-step process that explains what you need to do.
- Step 1 – Find a suitable Call for Proposals
You can do this via the Participant Portal. SwafS Calls for Proposals can be found here.
The European network of NCPs for the SwafS programme, Sis.net, has gone through all the calls for proposals in the work programme for 2016–2017 to identify calls that have an RRI perspective. This also includes calls for proposals outside of the SwafS programme that are relevant to those interested in the relationship between science and society. The document can be found here.
- Step 2 – Find project partners or apply as an individual
You are welcome to contact the National Contact Point team for Sweden (NCP) at Vinnova.
More tips and advice can be found on our support page.
- Step 3 – Create an account on the Participant portal
All administrative tasks relating to Horizon 2020 funding applications are managed via the European Commission’s Participant portal.
An online guide to Horizon 2020 can be found here.