Funding call: Horizon Europe Pump Priming collaboration between UK and EU partners

The British Academy with the support of the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences, and the Royal Academy of Engineering are inviting proposals from UK and EU/Associated Countries-based researchers to pump prime collaborations to support the effective uptake of the opportunities provided by the UK’s association to Horizon Europe.

Proposals are welcome in all disciplines – engineering, natural sciences, medical and health sciences, humanities, and social sciences.

The deadline for submissions is 17:00 (GMT) on Wednesday 5 November 2025.

Aims
This programme is providing pump priming funding to seed collaborations for applications to specific Horizon Europe topics in Pillar 2. The aim is to build collaborative activity between UK and EU/Associated Countries’ entities in Pillar 2 where the major consortia building type of applications in Horizon Europe are centred. This will help UK-based entities overcome the barriers to collaborative engagement with EU/Associated Countries’ partners to maximise the opportunities Horizon Europe presents. For the purpose of this call, Associated Countries include those countries in the process of associating, as listed on the ‘List of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe‘. Third country partners, such as Switzerland, can also be considered as appropriate, but projects and proposed consortia must provide confidence that they will address necessary eligibility and impact criteria.

Eligibility requirements
Each project will be led by a named Principal Investigator (PI). The PI must be a researcher from an eligible UK-based organisation and must be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research or innovation experience). The PI’s position must last at least the duration of the grant funded by the Academy. The PI is expected to direct and manage the grant and has responsibility for the overall project reporting requirements. An individual cannot be the PI on more than one bid under this call.

Proposals are welcome from research institutes and universities based in the UK, and proposals that involve working closely with UK SMEs are strongly encouraged. Proposals can also seek to engage with any other type of organisation eligible for Horizon Europe funding (based in the UK and/or the EU/Associated Countries), including third parties, end users and similar bodies/organisations such as hospitals, libraries, regulators, commercial partners, creative industry partners, museums, local authorities and associations, NGOs, charities and companies as appropriate to the selected Call and Topic.

Scope of the call
The call is focused solely on Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe – Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness.

Within Pillar 2, applications for this pump priming funding can be used for Calls and Topics from the 2025 and draft 2026-27 Work Programmes (ie Calls and Topics with 2026 and 2027 in the call code). Eligible Calls and Topics are listed either on the Horizon Europe funding portal as either ‘open for submission’ or ‘forthcoming’ or those published by the Commission that appear on the UK’s Horizon Europe Hub that close no earlier than 1 January 2026. Calls with a closing date prior to this will be considered ineligible.

Value and duration
We are able to offer awards of up to £10,000.

Award activity and use of funds must conclude with an interim report by the deadline of the Horizon Europe call being applied to. Awards will be required to provide further reporting on their award, including in relation to the outcome of their application to Horizon Europe.

Application process
Expressions of Interest must be submitted online using the British Academy’s Grant Management System (GMS), FlexiGrant®.

Contact details
Email: internationalgrants@thebritishacademy.ac.uk