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International Funding

International research funding offers opportunities to expand your project’s scope, build international collaborations, and raise the visibility of your work. This page provides a guide to relevant funding programs and practical links to help you get started.

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European Union

The European Union (EU) funds research and innovation via a range of instruments. The EU’s main research and innovation program is Horizon Europe (2021–2027); see below for more information. The EU also funds research via topical partnerships, e.g. Joint Undertaking programs co-funded with private or other public actors. Research & Innovation activities particularly aimed at strengthening economically less-developed regions in the EU are funded via the EU’s Cohesion Fund. Furthermore, the EU provides research funding via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), including through various Interreg programs, and the European Social Fund (ESF); see our "Regional Funding" page for information about these funding schemes administered by regional actors.

Some useful links for information about EU funding:

Get in touch with us via grantsoffice@miun.se or directly with Holger Noack or Sebastian Baum if you get stuck navigating the EU funding landscape, want to discuss a particular call, or need help navigating the EU portal. If you are thinking about preparing a proposal, don’t hesitate to reach out to us and we will be happy to help you from discussing your project idea and consortium to submitting the final proposal!

Horizon Europe

Horizon Europe is the 9th EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Developments, running from 2021 to 2027. The total funding to Swedish actors through Horizon Europe is roughly 5 billion SEK per year, approximately half of the combined yearly funding volume of the national Swedish funding agencies. Funding opportunities through Horizon Europe are largely organized in three pillars:

  • Pillar 1 – Excellent Science – funds basic research activities, or "frontier science" in EU parlance,
  • Pillar 2 – Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness – mainly funds applied science projects executed by consortia of academic actors partnering with business sector or other public sector entities,
  • Pillar 3 – Innovative Europe – mainly funds innovation transfer and scale-up activities aimed at innovative companies.

In general, partners in all 27 EU member states as well as number of associated countries (including Norway, the United Kingdom, and Canada) are eligible for funding, see this homepage for up-to-date information about associated countries.

Some useful links:

Pillar 1 – Excellent Science

Horizon Europe’s pillar 1 focus is funding basic research projects at universities and research institutes.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Marie Curie actions are the EU’s key program for funding doctoral and postdoctoral training. Marie Curie actions also aim to increase the mobility of researchers; the standard requirement is that doctoral candidates or postdoctoral scholars funded through Marie Curie actions cannot have lived or worked in the country they will be employed in for more than 12 months during the 36 months prior to the beginning of their training/employment.

Marie Curie Actions main homepage

Postdoctoral Fellowships

Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships are individual fellowships a candidate applies for together with a host organization (for example, a university, research institution, or business) in an EU Member state or country associated with Horizon Europe. Candidates must hold a PhD, have less than eight years of research experience after obtaining their PhD, and not have lived/worked in the host country for more than 12 of the previous 36 months. 

There are two types of fellowships:

  • European Postdoctoral Fellowship: 1-2 years funding for a fellowship placed in an EU member state or an Horizon Europe-associated country. Candidates from any nationality area eligible.
  • Global Postdoctoral Fellowship: 2-3 years funding, of which the first 1-2 years will be spent in a country not associated with Horizon Europe, followed by a 12 month return phase in an EU member state or Horizon Europe-associated country. Only candidates that are nationals or long-term residents of an EU member state or a country associated with Horizon Europe are eligible.

Researchers can receive additional support for secondment up to 6 months in a non-academic organization at the end of their fellowship.

Calls for Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships have a deadline once a year, typically in September. 

Note that applications receiving a total score of 85% or higher but which do not receive funding from the EU due to Marie Curie budget limitations receive a “Seal of Excellence”. Applicants with a seal of excellence may receive funding for their postdoctoral fellowships from national funders including the Swedish Research Council (VR) and Vinnova. 

Useful links for more information:

Doctoral Networks

Marie Curie Doctoral Network grants fund a number of PhD positions connected to a research project at an international consortium consisting of at least three partners in at least three different EU member states or countries associated to Horizon Europe. Partner organizations can be universities, research institutes, businesses or non-academic institutions. Doctoral Networks are typically funded for four years and fund up to approximately 15 three-year PhD positions across the consortium.

Calls for Marie Curie Doctoral Networks have a deadline once a year, typically in November/December.

Useful links for more information:

European Research Council (ERC)

ERC grants are the EU’s key program for providing funding to researchers pursuing basic research projects. ERC grants are highly competitive, but Swedish institutions consistently perform well – consider applying if you have a strong research idea! Funding covers the Principal Investigator’s (PI) salary, a small research group, and relevant equipment/research-related costs. ERC grants are open to all fields of academic research without predefined thematic priorities. There are no restrictions on the nationality of researchers, but research funded through the ERC must be carried out at an institution in an EU member state or Horizon Europe associated country.

There are four main ERC grant categories:

  • Starting Grant: For researchers 2–7 years post-PhD; up to 1.5 million EUR for five years, optional top-up up to 1 million EUR for costs related to moving from a country outside of the EU/associated country, purchase of major equipment, costs related to accessing necessary infrastructure, or costs related to experimental or field work. Yearly application, deadline typically in October/November.
  • Consolidator Grants: For researchers 7-12 years post-PhD; up to 2 million EUR for five years. Deadline typically in December/January.
  • Advanced Grants: For senior researchers with a track record of significant research achievements; up to 2.5 million EUR for five years, optional 1 million EUR top-up. Deadline typically in August.
  • Synergy Grant: For 2-4 PIs bringing different skills and resources. Up to 10 million EUR for up to six years, optional 4 million EUR top-up. Deadline typically in October/November.

Useful links for more information:

Pillar 2 – Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness

Horizon Europe’s pillar 2 funds a broad range of research and innovation activities via thematically directed calls. These calls are directed at international cross-sectoral consortia consisting of academic and non-academic partners. The standard eligibility requirement is a consortium consisting out of at least three independent partners from at least three different EU member states or Horizon Europe-associated countries; in practice, successful consortia typically consist of ten or more partners from academic and non-academic partners from the business-sector, other public actors, or non-governmental organizations as appropriate for the proposal.  

The EU uses three main types of funding instruments in Pillar 2:

  • Research and Innovation Actions (RIA)
    • Focus: Establish new knowledge and explore new solutions
    • Funding rate: 100% for all partners
  • Innovation Actions (IA)
    • Focus: prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, validating 
    • Funding rate: 100% for non-profit partners, 70% for for-profit partners
  • Coordination and Support Actions (CSA)
    • Focus: Standardization, dissemination, networking
    • Funding rate: 100% for all partners

Calls for proposals in Horizon Europe’s Pillar 2 are called "topics". These topics are organized in a hierarchical topical structure. There are six broad topical Clusters:

  1. Health
  2. Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
  3. Civil Security for Society
  4. Digital, Industry and Space
  5. Climate, Energy and Mobility
  6. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Each Cluster, in turn, is organized in Destinations that group the individual Topics (i.e., calls under which to submit a proposal).

In parallel to the topics organized in the Cluster/Destination structure, a second group of calls is organized in five so-called Missions:

  1. Adaptation to Climate Change: support at least 150 European regions and communities to become climate resilient by 2030
  2. Cancer: working with Europe's Beating Cancer Plan to improve the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030 through prevention, cure and solutions to live longer and better
  3. Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030
  4. 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030
  5. A Soil Deal for Europe: 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030

Individual Topics under the Cluster or Mission structure are typically very narrow in scope. However, the EU typically releases 300-400 individual Topics in Horizon Europe’s pillar 2 each year, covering a broad range of thematic priorities.

Useful links for more information:

European Partnerships

The EU has set up a number of European Partnerships to co-fund topical research & innovation programs together with private and/or other public partners. Each such partnership has their own set of rules they operate under, but funding calls under these partnerships tend to follow rules similar to those of Horizon Europe pillar 2 calls and are usually listed on the EU portal. 

EU homepage about European Partnerships

There are more than 60 individual partnerships funding Research and Innovation. Information about a few partnerships that are of particular interest for MIUN’s research profile can be found here:

Eurostars

Eurostars funds collaboration between academic institutions and research & development-performing SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises) by co-financing early-stage, market-oriented innovation projects. A typical consortium consists of two European SMEs, supported by one or two academic partners. 

Eurostars homepage

NordForsk

NordForsk is an organization under the Nordic Council of Ministers that facilitates and funds Nordic research cooperation.

Useful links to NordForsk and the Nordic Council:

The page was updated 7/30/2025