Following a recent meeting with the European Commission, UKRO would like to share with subscribers the institution’s plans for changes to the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal (FTOP).
We understand that a new version of the Portal will be launched at the EU R&I Days in March and that user-centricity is at the heart of the planned improvements, which include the following:
- A new landing page will make it easier for the users to find relevant EU funding opportunities as the FTOP will now be split into two separate sections – one with grants (e.g. Horizon Europe calls for proposals) and another one with procurement opportunities (tenders); there will be two separate entry points in contrast to the current one which can be confusing for new Portal users.
- The search engine will be significantly improved – a new AI-based system will now search for terms similar to those entered in the search box when looking for suitable funding opportunities.
- A new ‘Type of action’ filter will be added to the filter menu allowing the users to search the funding opportunities by project type (e.g. Research and Innovation Action or Coordination and Support Action)
- The way in which the FAQs are displayed on the Portal will be improved, reflecting the existence of two separate sections for grants and tenders.
Tests of the new Portal by National Contact Points are currently underway.
Other longer-term changes
We understand that later in 2024 the Commission plans to improve the presentation of the ‘My area’ section after users log in with their EU Login credentials.
Other longer-term plans include introducing a possible recommendation engine, which would suggest possible funding opportunities or events based on the user’s behaviour on the Portal (e.g. performed searches of funding opportunities, etc.)
UKRO will keep subscribers updated on any future developments in the area.