2023-24 Work Programme
The European Commission adopted the main Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2023-2024 on 6 December 2022 and published the final versions of the individual Work Programme parts in the ‘Reference documents’ section of the Funding & Tenders Portal. Many of the first 2023 calls for proposals, worth more than €13 billion in total, have already been launched.
There are dedicated Work Programmes for each part of the Horizon Europe Pillars, including the six Clusters and the Horizon Europe Missions. Separate annual Work Programmes are also available for the European Research Council (ERC) and the European Innovation Council (EIC).
What will be funded under the second biannual Work Programme?
R&I investments planned under the 2023-24 Work Programme will contribute to the EU reaching its climate goals, increasing energy resilience, and developing core digital technologies. They will also address targeted actions to support Ukraine, boost economic resilience and contribute to a sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic:
- €5.67 billion is dedicated to reaching key climate action objectives, finding innovative solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. €1.67 billion contributes to supporting biodiversity.
- Over €4.5 billion will support the EU digital transition, including the development of core digital technologies and encouraging their integration in our lives.
- New actions to support Ukraine include reinforcing the access of researchers from this country to European research infrastructures, continuing support to the health scientists from Ukraine, and supporting the climate-neutral reconstruction of several Ukrainian cities through the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities.
- In 2023, the main Work Programme will direct investments of more than €1 billion from NextGeneration EU towards Europe’s recovery from the economic and social damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Nearly €970 million will be invested to help speed up the clean energy transition, in line with the REPowerEU Plan, and increase Europe’s energy independence from unreliable suppliers and volatile fossil fuels.
- In line with the Strategy for International Cooperation in Research & Innovation that underpins the international dimension of Horizon Europe, the calls for collaborative projects will be characterised by general openness and international cooperation with non-EU partners will be strongly encouraged. In particular, the Commission will continue with the ‘Africa Initiative’, while also introducing the new ‘Mediterranean Initiative’, responding to the new R&I agenda developed with the Union for the Mediterranean.
What is new in the second Horizon Europe Work Programme?
Below is a non-exhaustive list of the main changes from the 2021-22 Work Programme, which are included in the General Annexes.
- The General Annexes now explicitly state that to participate as a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for EU funding. While this has been the case right from the beginning of Horizon Europe, the Work Programme 2021-22 never explicitly mentioned this rule.
- Participation of Chinese organisations in Innovation Actions (IA) – Under Article 22(6) of the Horizon Europe Regulation, legal entities established in China will no longer be eligible to participate in Horizon Europe Innovation Actions in any capacity. This includes participation as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties providing in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties, although, exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for well-justified reasons. This new restriction on participation may be reviewed in the future in accordance with policy developments.
- Participation of Russian and Belarusian organisations in Horizon Europe projects – the current restrictions on the participation of organisations from both countries, as well as those based in non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine, remain in place. However, the General Annexes now clarify that such legal entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity even when they are not subject to specific EU restrictive measures.
- Lump sums – Detailed information is included in the General Annexes about the different page limits for applications submitted to lump sum calls, as well as lump sum-specific evaluation modalities. This information is consistent with the recently published Commission guidance on applying to lump sum calls. Subscribers are reminded that the 2023-24 Work Programme includes a significantly higher share of topics that use the lump sum approach when compared to the first biannual Work Programme.
- Blind evaluation – The Commission will pilot a new mechanism in the Horizon Europe evaluation process called ‘blind evaluation’ in all two-stage calls included in the 2023-24 Work Programme, except one call under the ‘Widening Participation’ part.
Where can I find more information about the Work Programme?
Commission information days
The Commission is already holding a series of information days on the upcoming calls for proposals included in the new Work Programme. These events give prospective applicants and other stakeholders the opportunity to get information about the upcoming calls and ask questions about the main funding instruments and processes of Horizon Europe.
Past and future information days can be found on the Commission’s dedicated website.
UKRO factsheets
Following the publication of the main Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2023-2024, UKRO has updated its factsheets on the individual Horizon Europe programme parts.
They now contain the latest information on what will be funded under each part of the programme, including the Clusters under Pillar II, “Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’.
The factsheets intend to provide short summaries of the individual Work Programme parts and can be used to promote the upcoming Horizon Europe funding opportunities to researchers at UKRO subscribing institutions.
Last updated: 30 May 2025