The UK agreed a deal to associate to Horizon Europe on 7 September 2023.
UK researchers can now apply for Horizon Europe funding, certain that all successful UK applicants will be covered through the UK’s association (or through the guarantee) for the remainder of the programme.
All calls in Work Programme 2024 will be covered by association, and the UK guarantee scheme will be extended to cover all calls under Work Programme 2023.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is delivering the funding through its grant systems on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Application deadlines
The Horizon Europe guarantee scheme provides funding to researchers and innovators who were unable to receive their Horizon Europe funding while the UK was in the process of associating.
The UK has been associated to Horizon Europe since January 2024, and UK applicants are eligible to receive funding directly from the European Commission for Horizon Europe calls from the 2024 Work Programme.
Calls in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 Work Programmes have now announced results. Other than a small number of awards, all potential applicants should be in a position to apply to the Guarantee. We are reminding applicants who have been notified of success in these work programmes to apply and confirming the final deadline for applications to the Horizon Europe Guarantee is on 27 November at 4pm 2025.
Some Guarantee funding opportunities have already closed or are due to close for new applications before 27 November 2025. Opportunities that have closed will not reopen again, except in exceptional circumstances which will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Contact EUGrantsFunding@ukri.org if an opportunity you have been successful for is closed.
Closing dates for Guarantee-eligible calls
Opportunities in the UKRI Funding Service:
- ERC Starting Grants 2023 (closing date 1 September 2024)
- ERC Synergy Grants 2023 (closing date 3 December 2024)
- ERC Consolidator Grants 2023 (closing date 4 February 2025)
- MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (closing date 4 March 2025)
- MSCA Citizens Grants 2023 (closing date 4 March 2025)
- MSCA Doctoral Networks 2023 (closing date 3 June 2025)
- ERC Advanced Grants 2023 (closing date 3 June 2025)
- MSCA Staff Exchanges 2023 (closing date 1 July 2025)
- MSCA COFUND 2023 (closing date 5 August 2025)
Opportunities in the Innovation Funding Service:
- Horizon Europe Guarantee Extension (closing date 27 November 2025)
- Horizon Europe Associated Partners Funding Pilot (Guarantee), (closing date 27 November 2025)
- KICS23 (closing date 27 November 2025)
What this means for applicants
Any eligible UK-based organisation receiving a success notification:
- on or before 27 August 2025 must apply for guarantee funding by 27 November at 4pm 2025
- after 27 August 2025 will have a minimum of three months from notification of success to apply, ensuring those with late notification will still be able to access support and funding through the Guarantee
Late applications
We aim to provide funding to all eligible successful applicants. Contact the team directly at EUGrantsFunding@ukri.org as soon as you are aware of a late application.
This could be because you:
- are notified of a successful application through the reserve list after the advertised deadline
- have been successful, but the grant agreement preparation process is ongoing, and you have not yet signed the grant agreement
This will ensure that the team is able to prepare accordingly, provide further specific guidance and ensure prompt funding.
Funding from the European Commission
Researchers and businesses are encouraged to apply directly to Horizon Europe and take advantage of the vast opportunities it offers for international collaboration. Find support and advice on applying directly to Horizon Europe.
There may be circumstances where UK-based organisations are not eligible to receive funding from the European Commission in Horizon Europe calls within Work Programmes 2024 to 2027. For example, where the opportunity is funded through underspends from the period before the UK was associated. In these situations, we recommend potential applicants contact their National Contact Point, and email the UKRI Guarantee team at EUGrantsFunding@ukri.org
What this means for existing Guarantee grant holders
Projects already funded by the Horizon Europe Guarantee will continue to receive support as planned. There will be no disruption to any projects that have already been onboarded onto the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S), the UKRI Funding Service or the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) systems.
There will be no change to the post award management of Guarantee grants, and award holders will continue to be able to manage awards through the Innovation Funding Service and UKRI Funding Service. This includes transferring work and associated budget to a new UK organisation.
We remain committed to supporting ongoing projects and will continue to champion the UK research and innovation community. Our focus will now shift to ensuring the seamless continuation and success of all funded projects.
Contact EUGrantsFunding@ukri.org if you need any support or have any questions.
Who can apply
To be eligible you must:
- be based in the UK
- have been successful at applying for a Horizon Europe grant during the Work Programme 2021, 2022 or 2023
- have been included on the initial grant proposal as a ‘beneficiary’ with an assigned budget
For ‘multi-beneficiary grants’, the coordinator and the European Commission must have signed your grant agreement before you complete the application process.
For ‘mono-beneficiary grants’, the offer of funding from the Commission must have been withdrawn or you must include a letter stating that you have terminated the ‘grant agreement preparation’ process with the Commission.
How to apply for guarantee funding
Follow the specific guidance given in the section for your type of grant.
Guidance and supporting documents are available for:
- European Research Council (ERC) grants
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) grants
- European Institute of Innovation and Technology Knowledge and Innovation Communities (EIT-KICs)
- all other eligible Horizon Europe grants
If needed for your grant type, you will also find a ‘conversion tool template’ to download and use.
Before applying, you should also check the general UKRI guidance documents for the Horizon Europe scheme and UK association to Horizon Europe and the UK Horizon Europe guarantee.
For ERC and MSCA grants, check Horizon Europe Guarantee: guidance for grants using Je-S and UKRI Funding Service.
For all other eligible calls, check Horizon Europe Guarantee: guidance for Innovation Funding Service (IFS) grants.
There is also specific Researchfish reporting guidance for ERC and MSCA guarantee grants.
Mixed appropriation calls
The association agreement with the European Commission means that all calls within Work Programme 2024 will be covered by our association agreement and the guarantee will cover all eligible calls under Work Programme 2023.
However, there are a set of mixed appropriation calls under Work Programme 2023 that draw from both the 2023 and 2024 budgets. Because these calls are partially funded from the 2024 budget, the EU have confirmed that for a subset of these calls where UK entities have been successful they are eligible for EU funding (and therefore they will not be covered by the UK’s Horizon guarantee).
UK entities are eligible to receive EU funding for the following funding calls:
- HORIZON-EUROHPC-JU-2023-INTER-02-01
- HORIZON-INFRA-2023-DEV-01-03
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ACCESS01-01-two-stage
- HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-01-18 Clean Energy Transition Co-funded Partnership
- HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-2 European partnership on animal health and welfare
- HORIZON-CL5-2023-D2-01-08: Driving Urban Transition
- HORIZON-CL6-2023-CLIMATE-01-1 Additional activities for the European Partnership Water Security for the Planet (Water4All)
- HORIZON-EIE-2023-INNOVSMES-01 Eurostars
- HORIZON-EIE-2023-CONNECT-03-01 Interconnected Innovation Ecosystem
Change of status to receive EU funding
The EU have confirmed that for these mixed appropriation calls, UK entities will be switched from Associated Partners to Beneficiary or be written in directly as beneficiaries from 2024 and therefore be eligible to receive EU funding.
The process can take place in two steps:
- Step 1: entities from the UK to remain as Associate Partners at the time of signature of the grant agreement
- Step 2: entities from the UK involved as Associated Partners are switched to Beneficiaries via an amendment to the on-going grant agreement, and the maximum grant amount will be increased with the budget of the entity established in the UK which will be funded with budget 2024 only
There are two possible processes for the switch from Associated Partner to Beneficiary:
- a) the process for this switch of status may happen automatically and be initiated by the EC project coordinator
- b) if this process does not occur automatically, the UK entity should request a change of status via a letter to the EC project coordinator
ERC and MSCA grants moving to the new Funding Service
Funding applications for future Horizon Europe Guarantee opportunities which were hosted on Je-S (ERC and MSCA grant types) are being managed through UKRI’s new Funding Service from 13 May 2024.
The UKRI Funding Service is being gradually developed, with new functionality being released all the time. We will increase awards processing through the Funding Service over the coming months. Currently, applications being processed through the new Funding Service will continue to have offer letters issued via Je-S.
All non-ERC and non-MSCA grant types currently hosted on IFS will continue to be hosted on IFS.