EIC Pathfinder Open 2021
HORIZON EIC Grants
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01-01
- Programme
- EIC Pathfinder Open 2021
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- April 8, 2021
- Deadline
- May 25, 2021
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €168,000,000
Description
You should apply to this call if you are looking for support from EIC Pathfinder Open to realise an ambitious vision for radically new technology, with potential to create new markets and/or to address global challenges. EIC Pathfinder Open supports early stage development of such future technologies (e.g. various activities at low Technology Readiness Levels 1-4), based on high-risk/high-gain science-towards-technology breakthrough research (including ‘deep-tech’). This research must provide the foundations of the technology you are envisioning.
EIC Pathfinder Open may support your work, especially if it is highly risky: you may set out to try things that will not work; you may be faced with questions that nobody knows the answer to yet; you may realise that there are many aspects of the problem that you do not master. On the contrary, if the path you want to follow is incremental by nature or known, EIC Pathfinder Open will not support you.
Before applying you should verify that your proposal meets all the following essential characteristics (‘Gatekeepers’):
- Convincing long-term vision of a radically new technology that has the potential to have a transformative positive effect to our economy and society.
- Concrete, novel and ambitious science-towards-technology breakthrough, providing advancement towards the envisioned technology.
- High-risk/high-gain research approach and methodology, with concrete and plausible objectives.
For more details, see the EIC Work Programme 2021.
Eligibility & Conditions
1. Admissibility and eligibility conditions: This call is open for collaborative research. Your proposal must be submitted by the coordinator, on behalf of a consortium that includes at least three independent legal entities, each one established in a different Member State or Associated Country and with at least one of them established in a Member State. The legal entities may for example be universities, research organisations, SMEs, start-ups, industrial partners or natural persons. The standard admissibility and eligibility conditions are detailed in Annex 2, and the eligibility of applicants from third countries in Annex 3 of the EIC Work Programme 2021.
2. Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System
Sections 1 to 3 of the part B of your proposal, corresponding respectively to the evaluation criteria Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation, must consist of a maximum of 17 A4 pages. Excess pages will be automatically made invisible, and will not be taken into consideration by the evaluators. Please also consult Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2021.
3. Financial and operational capacity :described in Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2021.
4. Evaluation and award:
- Submission and evaluation processes: described in Section II.1 of the EIC Work Programme 2021 and the Online Manual.
This call will take part of a pilot with the aim to test a ‘right-to-react’ (or rebuttal) evaluation process. About 2-2.5 months after the call deadline participants will receive via the Funding & Tenders Portal the evaluators’ comments and will have the chance to reply to them within 7 working days with a strict page limit (maximum two A4 pages). The participants’ replies cannot be used to alter or add to the content of the proposals, but must strictly focus on providing clarifications and/or on responding to potential misunderstandings or errors by the evaluators. These replies will be made available to the evaluation committee who will decide on the final score on the basis of the individual scores and the outcome of its consensus discussions, taking into consideration the comments from the right-to-react procedure.·
- Award criteria, scoring and thresholds: described in Section II.1 of the EIC Work Programme 2021.
- Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Section II.1 of the EIC Work Programme 2021.
You will be informed about the outcome of the evaluation within 5 months from the call deadline (indicative), and, if your proposal is accepted for funding, your grant agreement will be signed by 8 months after call deadline (indicative).
ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/essential-information-for-clinical-studies_horizon_en.pdf 5. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Please refer to the Model Grant Agreement (MGA) used for EIC actions under Horizon Europe
Call document and annexes:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
List of Pathfinder Open Descriptors
Model Grant Agreement (MGA) used for EIC actions under Horizon Europe
Additional documents:
EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms & Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
Template for essential information to be provided for proposals including clinical studies
Support & Resources
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.
Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.
IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.
European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.
CEN and CENELEC, the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal. Contact CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk at [email protected].
The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
Partner Search Services help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
Latest Updates
Following the difficulties experienced by applicants due to IT issues, the deadline for the call EIC Pathfinder Open 2021 (HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01) has been extended.
The EIC Pathfinder Open 2021 call now closes on May 25th, 2021, at 5:00 PM Brussels time (CET).
The link to the template for essential information to be provided for proposals including clinical studies is now available as additional document of section Topic Conditions