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The Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine of the NRFU publishes an analytical report on submitted applications for calls under Cluster 4 “Digitalization, Industry and Space” and the components “Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions” and “Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area” (WIDERA) of the Horizon Europe Program in the period from 2021 to 2024. The Office’s specialists have collected information on competitions where Ukrainian participants were among the applicants.

Proposal evaluation results

The threshold for topics with the action types RIA (Research and Innovation Actions), IA (Innovation Actions), and CSA (Coordination and Support Actions) is 10 points, while the maximum is 15 points. For the TMA (Training and Mobility Actions) action type, the threshold is 70 points, with a maximum of 100 points. In some cases, the scores were weighted according to defined criteria. Proposals that do not pass the initial assessment on the admissibility and eligibility criteria are not evaluated by the experts.

Analysis of submitted applications

The largest number of participants from Ukraine were involved in the 2024 calls in Cluster 4 “Digital, Industry and Space”:

• HORIZON-CL4-2024-RESILIENCE-01: 26 participants. The most active participation was in areas related to critical raw materials. Notably, 17 participants from Ukraine were involved in the topic “Technologies for extraction and processing of critical raw materials” (HORIZON-CL4-2024-RESILIENCE-01-11), for which the topic terms required participants from either Ukraine or Canada;
• HORIZON-CL4-2024-TWIN-TRANSITION-01 – 15 participants;
• HORIZON-CL4-2024-HUMAN-03 – 10 participants.

In the topics with a relatively high level of competition, most of the applications did ot pass the threshold. The applications with Ukrainian participants that scored above the threshold are within two themes:

• HORIZON-CL4-2024-HUMAN-03 – 183 applications were submitted, which were evaluated, and 7 applications were selected for funding. Participants from Ukraine submitted 7 applications, one of which scored above the threshold (13 points); 
• HORIZON-CL4-2024-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01 – 248 applications were submitted and evaluated, of which 18 were selected for funding. Participants from Ukraine submitted 7 applications, one of which scored above the threshold (10.5 points);

Two applications (one for each topic) got the status of Ineligible. The reasons include ineligibility for the objectives of the topic and the requirements for the consortium members.

Participants from Ukraine actively responded to calls for proposals for most types of funding under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. The largest number of applications was submitted for Doctoral Networks (DN) and Staff Exchange (SE) calls in 2021 and 2022.

In 2021, 14 applications (19 participants) were submitted for doctoral networks, of which 12 scored above the threshold. However, none of the applications received funding. There were 15 applications (22 participants) submitted for Staff Exchange calls, of which 4 were selected for funding. 9 applications had scores above the threshold.

In 2022, 19 applications (28 participants) were submitted to the Doctoral Network calls, one of which was selected for funding. 14 applications scored above the threshold. For the Staff Exchange, 23 applications were submitted (34 participants), 10 of which scored above the threshold and 9 of which were selected for funding.

In 2023, 17 applications (22 participants) were submitted to the Doctoral Network, 3 applications were selected for funding, and 16 scored above the threshold.

In 2024, 19 applications (26 participants) were submitted to the Doctoral Network, 13 applications scored above the threshold, but none received funding.

Within the WIDERA, the largest number of applications submitted in 2022 and 2024 with participants from Ukraine were submitted to the European Research Area (ERA) calls: in 2022 – 7 applications (5 applications scored above the threshold), in 2024 – 27 applications (20 applications scored above the threshold and 3 applications selected for funding).

Ukraine’s position among the other associated countries

As of 05.05.2025, Ukraine’s participation in the Horizon Europe Program among 19 associated countries is as follows in terms of components:

In Cluster 4, Ukraine is ranked 6th in terms of funding received (€7.15 million). The following countries are ahead of it: Norway (€181.36 million), Turkey (€59.1 million), the United Kingdom (€51.02 million), Israel (€46.38 million), and Serbia (€11.96 million). Ukraine is ranked 6th in terms of the number of participants.

Under the WIDERA component, Ukraine ranks 4th in terms of funding received (€11 million). The following countries are ahead: Serbia (€38.86 million), Turkey (€32.62 million), and Norway (€15.93 million). It ranks 5th in terms of the number of participants.

Under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action, Ukraine ranks 6th in terms of funding attracted (EUR 6.77 million). The following countries are ahead: Norway (€96.96 million), the United Kingdom (€70.27 million), Turkey (€33.78 million), Israel (€13.29 million), and Serbia (€6.85 million). In terms of the number of participants, it ranks 7th.

Areas where Ukrainian participants have competitive advantages

Ukrainian partners have advantages in calls/topics where the involvement of the Ukrainian partner is within the conditions. The Programme component, where the key participants belonging to the Widening Country are also promising. These include competitions under the WIDERA and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions components.

Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, NRFU reminds that after much anticipation, the European Commission has pre-published the draft of the Horizon Europe work programme 2025. (more…)