Project Management & Proposal Writing Support

A European project is a collaborative initiative co-funded by the European Union to address shared challenges in areas such as climate, energy, industry and society. These projects typically bring together a consortium of organisations from several countries, including universities, research institutes, companies, public bodies and industrial end users. Each partner contributes specific expertise to a common work plan with clearly defined objectives and expected results.

A key challenge in many European projects is bridging the gap between research and real-world application. Promising technologies can stall between the lab and the market — a gap often referred to as the “valley of death.” Partners with both research and industry expertise can help bridge this gap by translating scientific developments into practical solutions that industrial end users can adopt.

Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is a scale from 1 to 9 that describes the maturity of a technology, from basic principles observed (TRL 1) to a system proven in an operational environment (TRL 9). It provides a common framework for assessing how far a technology has progressed.

TRL is relevant because EU funding programmes and calls often target specific technology maturity levels. Research and Innovation Actions generally focus on earlier-stage development, while Innovation Actions place greater emphasis on demonstration and piloting. The Innovation Fund supports more mature technologies approaching commercial deployment. Understanding a project’s current and target TRL therefore helps identify suitable funding opportunities.

The most suitable funding programme depends on the project’s technology readiness level (TRL), objectives, expected impact, funding needs and alignment with the scope and requirements of a specific call. The level of competition and the type of activities that can be funded should also be considered.

For projects involving a demonstration component, the required budget and eligible costs are particularly important. Demonstration projects may require significant investment in equipment and infrastructure, including relatively high-TRL equipment needed to demonstrate an innovation at the appropriate scale. These factors should be assessed against the requirements of each funding programme before deciding where to apply.

Horizon Europe is the EU’s main research and innovation funding programme for 2021–2027. It supports projects that advance scientific knowledge, develop new technologies and bring innovative solutions closer to practical and market application.

Two particularly relevant action types for industrial research and innovation projects are:

• Research and Innovation Actions (RIA): focused on generating new knowledge and developing new or improved technologies, products, processes or services. These actions can receive up to 100% funding of eligible costs.
• Innovation Actions (IA): focused more strongly on activities such as prototyping, testing, demonstration, piloting and market replication. These actions can receive up to 70% funding of eligible costs for companies and up to 100% for non-profit legal entities.

A wide range of organisations can participate, including universities, research organisations, SMEs, start-ups, large companies, public authorities and NGOs. For many collaborative Horizon Europe projects, a consortium must include at least three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or associated countries, with at least one established in an EU Member State. However, exact eligibility and consortium requirements depend on the specific call.

The United Kingdom and Switzerland are associated with Horizon Europe, allowing their organisations to participate under broadly equivalent conditions to organisations from EU Member States. The UK has been associated since 2024, while Switzerland’s association applies from 1 January 2025.

The Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programmes for deploying innovative net-zero and low-carbon technologies. Financed through revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), it supports projects in areas such as energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, energy storage, industrial carbon management and clean-tech manufacturing.

The Innovation Fund is generally more appropriate when a technology is already relatively mature and the next step involves a concrete investment in demonstration, scale-up or commercial deployment. Horizon Europe, by comparison, is more focused on research and innovation activities and often involves collaborative consortia. Unlike many collaborative Horizon Europe projects, a single company can apply to the Innovation Fund.

Innovation Fund proposals are assessed on factors including greenhouse gas emissions avoidance, degree of innovation, project maturity, replicability and cost efficiency. A strong business case and a credible pathway to implementation and scale are therefore important when determining whether a project is suitable for the programme.

Yes. EU funding can support demonstrators and high-TRL equipment when they are necessary to develop, test or demonstrate an innovation. Under Horizon Europe, equipment costs are typically funded through depreciation, although some calls allow full capitalised costs.

For more mature projects moving towards commercial deployment, the Innovation Fund can support demonstration and commercialisation of innovative net-zero and low-carbon technologies.

The most suitable funding route depends on the technology maturity, intended scale and technical feasibility of the proposed demonstration.

Ideally, preparation for a European funding proposal should start at least three months before the submission deadline. Starting early provides enough time to assess the call requirements, develop the project concept, coordinate partners and prepare a coherent proposal.

However, the required preparation time depends on the complexity of the project and the maturity of the project idea. When necessary, BlueXPRT can mobilise quickly: we have successfully prepared funding proposals for large, complex projects in around five weeks.

The information needed depends on the organisation’s role in the project. Technology providers should have a clear understanding of their solution’s current Technology Readiness Level (TRL), the development stage they aim to reach and the steps required to advance the technology.

Industrial end users should be able to define the challenge or need they want to address, the intended application of the proposed solution and the key performance indicators (KPIs) or system requirements it should meet.

Projects should also consider any requirements that could affect implementation, including the need for industry or societal acceptance, additional partnerships, permits or other conditions required to deploy the proposed solution.

Requirements vary by funding programme and call, but an EU funding proposal typically includes administrative information about the participating organisations, budget and required declarations, together with a technical proposal describing the project’s excellence, expected impact and implementation. Applications must follow the requirements of the specific call, including eligibility criteria, page limits, consortium rules and any required supporting documents.

A strong consortium brings together partners with complementary expertise and clear roles across the project’s value chain. Depending on the project, this can include researchers and technology developers, industrial partners and end users, as well as specialists in areas such as assessment, communication and exploitation. Each partner should have a clear role, relevant experience and the capacity to deliver its tasks. For industrial innovation projects, committed end users are particularly valuable because they help demonstrate how the project’s results can be applied in practice.

Participating in an EU-funded project involves financial, contractual and implementation responsibilities. Depending on the programme, organisations may need to co-finance part of the project, manage cash flow between payments and ensure that all claimed costs meet the applicable eligibility and reporting rules. Ineligible costs can be rejected or recovered.

Consortium risk is also important: if a partner cannot deliver its tasks, work may need to be redistributed or a replacement found. Careful partner selection, clear responsibilities in the Consortium Agreement, realistic budgeting and experienced project management help reduce these risks.

No. Participating in an EU-funded innovation project does not automatically mean sharing ownership of your existing intellectual property. In Horizon Europe, background IP remains with its owner, while project results are generally owned by the partner that generates them. Joint ownership may arise when results are generated jointly and individual contributions cannot be separated.

Partners may still need access rights to certain background or results where necessary for the project. Ownership, access rights and protection of commercially sensitive technology should therefore be addressed clearly in the Consortium Agreement.

Evaluation criteria vary by funding programme and call. For Horizon Europe, proposals are typically evaluated by independent experts against three main criteria: excellence, impact, and quality and efficiency of implementation.

Each criterion is generally scored from 0 to 5, with thresholds defined in the relevant call. For many Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Innovation Actions (IA), proposals must typically achieve at least 3 out of 5 for each criterion and 10 out of 15 overall. Meeting the thresholds does not guarantee funding, as proposals compete for the available call budget.

Other EU funding programmes use different evaluation frameworks. Innovation Fund regular grants, for example, are assessed on greenhouse gas emissions avoidance, degree of innovation, project maturity, replicability and cost efficiency.

For industrial innovation projects, strong industry involvement can strengthen a proposal by demonstrating a credible route from innovation to implementation, including how project results can be taken up, replicated or scaled.

Once a European project is approved, the consortium enters the grant preparation phase. This typically involves finalising the Grant Agreement with the funding authority and, for collaborative projects, establishing a Consortium Agreement between the project partners.

During implementation, effective project management is needed to coordinate partners, monitor progress against the work plan, manage resources and risks, and ensure that deliverables, milestones and reporting requirements are met. Projects may also need to manage changes, financial reporting, communication, dissemination and exploitation of results throughout their duration.

Several types of organisations can support EU funding proposal preparation. Research partners and experienced project coordinators often contribute to the scientific and technical content, while National Contact Points (NCPs) provide guidance on specific EU funding programmes and application requirements. Specialised consultancies can provide more hands-on support throughout the process, from identifying suitable funding opportunities and building a consortium to developing the proposal and preparing the project budget.

BlueXPRT provides flexible proposal preparation support, ranging from reviewing an existing draft or supporting specific parts of a proposal to managing the full proposal development process. Its multidisciplinary team combines experience in innovation with technical, economic and social expertise.

A strong EU proposal writing consultancy should have experience in both developing successful proposals and supporting funded projects during implementation. Practical project experience helps ensure proposals are realistic and deliverable, while EU evaluation experience provides insight into how proposals are assessed.

BlueXPRT’s team has more than 20 years of combined experience and has helped clients secure over €350 million in funding across programmes including Horizon Europe, the Innovation Fund, LIFE, CBE JU, Clean Hydrogen JU, CEF and RFCS. BlueXPRT reports success rates of over 10% for Horizon Europe proposals and over 30% for Innovation Fund proposals.

The team also brings experience in EU proposal evaluation and project monitoring and has supported clients in more than 30 countries across industry, SMEs, research organisations, NGOs and semi-governmental organisations.

BlueXPRT offers flexible fee structures for EU funding proposal preparation, depending on the scope and complexity of the project. Three models are typically available:

• Hourly fee: based on the actual time spent on proposal preparation and support.
• Upfront fee plus success fee: combines an initial fee with an additional fee that becomes payable if the proposal receives funding.
• Full proposal package: covers the complete proposal development and preparation process, with the fee adapted to the type of organisation and project.

The most suitable model depends on the level of support required, the complexity of the proposal and how proposal-development responsibilities are divided within the consortium.