Stages · 01/10
Search & monitoring of opportunities
Stage 1 of 10 in the grant lifecycle: 37 knowledge base articles on programmes, rules and terms for this step.
Programmes6
- Creative Europe Creative Europe is the EU programme for culture, the audiovisual sector and media for 2021–2027, with a budget of about €2.44 billion. Ukraine takes part in the Culture and Cross-sectoral strands and, since December 2024, has full access to MEDIA as well. A Ukrainian organisation can be a partner or a coordinator, but the grant covers only part of the budget, so an own contribution is needed.
- Digital Europe Digital Europe (DIGITAL) is the EU programme for 2021–2027 with a budget of over €8.1 billion that funds the deployment of digital technologies: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital skills and their uptake in business and the public sector. Ukraine has been associated since 2022, but only to four objectives. The typical rate is 50%, so applicants fund the other half.
- Erasmus+ Erasmus+ is the EU programme for education, training, youth and sport for 2021–2027, with a budget of €26.2 billion. It funds the mobility of people, partnerships between organisations and capacity building in higher education. Ukraine takes part as a third country not associated to the Programme, so what is open is the international dimension rather than the whole programme.
- Horizon Europe Horizon Europe is the EU framework programme for research and innovation for 2021–2027, with a budget of roughly €93.5 billion – the largest such programme in the world. It funds fundamental science, applied research against societal challenges and breakthrough innovation, and Ukraine takes part in full as an associated country.
- Interreg Interreg is the EU’s European territorial cooperation for 2021–2027: dozens of separate programmes, each with its own territory, calls and rules. Ukrainian municipalities, public institutions, NGOs and universities take part in several of them, but only together with partners from EU countries. The rate, the advance and Ukraine’s status depend on the programme, so check them on its website.
- LIFE LIFE is the only EU programme devoted entirely to the environment and climate action, with a budget of €5.432 billion for 2021–2027. It runs through four sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity, circular economy, climate action, and the clean energy transition. Ukraine has been associated to LIFE since 2022, so a Ukrainian organisation can be a full beneficiary.
Programme sections18
- CBHE: capacity building in higher education Capacity Building in Higher Education is the Erasmus+ action built around universities outside the EU, which makes it the most important one in the programme for Ukrainian institutions. It has three strands, with grants from €200,000 to €1,000,000 and durations from 24 to 48 months. Erasmus+
- Circular Economy and Quality of Life The circular economy and quality of life sub-programme holds €1.345 billion for 2021–2027. It funds waste management, resource efficiency, water and air quality, noise reduction and chemical safety, and the co-financing rate here is 60%. LIFE
- Clean Energy Transition: a rate of up to 95% The clean energy transition sub-programme holds €997 million for 2021–2027 and carries the highest co-financing rate in LIFE, up to 95%. It funds not equipment but the removal of non-technological barriers: policies, skills, financing schemes and the preparation of investment projects. LIFE
- Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation The climate change mitigation and adaptation sub-programme holds €947 million for 2021–2027. It funds cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the adaptation of territories to the effects of climate change and climate governance, at a co-financing rate of 60%. LIFE
- EIC Accelerator: a grant plus an equity investment The EIC Accelerator is the largest EIC instrument, with a 2026 budget of around €634 million. It combines a grant of up to €2.5 million with a direct investment of €1 to €10 million in exchange for a stake taken by the EIC Fund. A single company applies, and selection runs through a short application, a full application and a jury interview. Horizon Europe
- EIC Pathfinder: the earliest stage of a breakthrough technology EIC Pathfinder funds research into a breakthrough technology at the earliest stage, when no market prospect is yet visible. The 2026 budget for the strand is around €262 million, grants reach €4 million, the funding rate is 100% and the model is a lump sum. Horizon Europe
- EIC Transition: from a result to market readiness EIC Transition funds taking an existing scientific result to a state fit for market entry. The 2026 budget for the strand is around €100 million, grants reach €2.5 million, and the entry ticket is a result from Pathfinder, ERC Proof of Concept or another eligible project. Horizon Europe
- ERC: six frontier research schemes The European Research Council funds frontier research on a single criterion, scientific excellence, with no set topics, no consortium and no requirement of practical application. Six schemes: Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, ERC Plus, Synergy and Proof of Concept, from €150,000 to €10 million. Success rates in the 2025 calls were around 10–12%. Horizon Europe
- Jean Monnet: modules, chairs and centres of excellence Jean Monnet Actions fund teaching and research on European integration. It is the most accessible strand of Erasmus+ for a single institution: one university applies with no consortium, and the grant is up to €35,000 for a Module, up to €60,000 for a Chair and up to €100,000 for a Centre of Excellence. Erasmus+
- Key Action 1: mobility and KA171 Key Action 1 funds the movement of people: study and traineeships for students, teaching and training for staff. Mobility with countries outside the EU sits in a separate action, KA171, where the grant goes to the European institution and the Ukrainian partner sends and hosts participants under an agreed quota. Erasmus+
- Key Action 2: cooperation partnerships Key Action 2 funds joint projects between organisations rather than trips for individuals. Cooperation Partnerships come in three fixed lump sums – €120,000, €250,000 and €400,000 – and Small-scale Partnerships in two, €30,000 and €60,000, the latter designed as the entry point for organisations with no EU project experience. Erasmus+
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions: mobility programmes Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fund people rather than topics: researcher mobility, doctoral programmes and training. Payments are made at fixed monthly unit rates rather than against actual costs, and both individual researchers and institutions can apply. Horizon Europe
- Nature and Biodiversity: the largest sub-programme Nature and Biodiversity is the largest LIFE sub-programme, with €2.143 billion for 2021–2027. It funds the restoration of habitats and species populations, the build-out of the Natura 2000 network and the implementation of EU nature legislation, and the co-financing rate here reaches 75%. LIFE
- Pillar 2: Clusters – 6 thematic clusters The clusters are the six thematic areas of Horizon Europe Pillar 2, funding applied research against specific societal challenges: health; culture and society; civil security; digital, industry and space; climate, energy and mobility; food, bioeconomy and environment. This is where the bulk of consortium calls sits. Horizon Europe
- Pillar 3: European Innovation Council (EIC) The European Innovation Council is the part of Horizon Europe for high-risk breakthrough innovation, from early idea to market. Its distinguishing feature is blended finance – a grant alongside a direct equity investment in the company – and most of its instruments are applied for by a single company rather than a consortium. Horizon Europe
- Ukrainian participants in Erasmus+: what is open In Erasmus+ Ukraine holds the status of a third country not associated to the Programme, region 2 "Neighbourhood East". This is not the full access it has in Horizon Europe: a Ukrainian institution applies in its own right in centralised actions and joins decentralised ones as a partner of a European applicant. Erasmus+
- Ukrainian participants: statistics and cases Ukraine participates in Horizon Europe as an associated country with full access to every part of the programme, and the national financial contribution is currently suspended. Ukrainian institutions may coordinate projects, and separate mechanisms support displaced researchers and deep-tech companies. Horizon Europe
- Widening Programme: opportunities for Ukraine Widening is the strand of Horizon Europe created to close the participation gap between countries with different research capacity. Ukraine is a Widening country, so Ukrainian institutions may coordinate Twinning, ERA Chairs and Excellence Hubs projects, and join already-funded consortia through the Hop-on Facility. Horizon Europe
Glossary13
- Call for Proposals (CfP) A call for proposals is a package of topics with a shared deadline and budget, published by the European Commission on the portal. You apply not to the call but to a specific topic within it: the topic sets the type of action, the funding rate, the consortium requirements and the expected outcomes. Horizon Europe
- Donor (donor / funding body) A donor is an organisation that provides non-repayable funding for public-benefit purposes and sets the rules for using it: who may apply, what the money may be spent on and how it must be reported. Donors range from the EU to national governments, private foundations and corporate programmes, and the type of donor largely determines how demanding the requirements are.
- eRobota: state grants for business eRobota is the Ukrainian government’s programme of non-repayable grants for business, running since July 2022. In 2026 it covers the Vlasna Sprava grant for starting and scaling a business and grants for processing plants, orchards, greenhouses and produce storage. Applications go through the Diia portal, and in return the applicant commits to create jobs and pay taxes.
- Grant A grant is non-repayable, earmarked financial support for a specific project, awarded by a donor through a competitive selection. Unlike a loan it is not paid back, but in return it demands strict use of the funds for the stated purpose, reporting and compliance with procurement rules.
- Grant or subsidised loan: which should a business choose A grant is not repaid, but you answer for it with results: jobs, taxes and reports. A subsidised loan is repaid with interest, yet the money arrives faster and can be spent more freely. A grant fits when the project matches the programme terms and you are ready for monitoring, a loan when speed, amount and flexibility matter.
- Grants for local communities: where to start A Ukrainian community can attract grants through its council, a municipal enterprise, a local development agency, or in partnership with a civic organisation. The realistic sources are EU programmes, UN agency projects and state instruments such as the regional development fund. Almost everywhere this takes local budget co-financing, a council decision and a link to the community strategy.
- Institutional support: a grant for the organisation, not a project Institutional support is a grant for the running of the organisation itself rather than a single project: permanent staff, office, strategy, audit, capacity development. In EU terms it is an operating grant; foundations call it core funding. The donor assesses not a project idea but strategy, governance and financial transparency, so preparation starts long before the call.
- NOFO (Notice of Funding Opportunity) A NOFO is the official announcement of a US federal grant opportunity, setting out the programme, who may apply, how and by what deadline. It is a standardised document of eight sections, and all its variants, RFA and APS among them, are forms of NOFO rather than alternatives to it.
- NRFU (National Research Foundation of Ukraine) The National Research Foundation of Ukraine is a state institution that has funded research projects competitively since 2019. The applicant here is always an institution rather than an individual researcher, and the Foundation also hosts Ukraine's Horizon Europe office. NRFU
- Regranting: grants through intermediary organisations Regranting means a donor awards one large grant to an operator organisation, which then runs its own calls and passes smaller grants on to local organisations. For an applicant it is the most accessible way into grant funding: a simpler application, smaller amounts, the local language. But your contract is with the operator, and the original donor's rules usually reach you through that contract.
- Ukraine Facility The Ukraine Facility is the EU’s support instrument for Ukraine for 2024–2027 worth up to €50 billion: up to €33 billion in loans and up to €17 billion in non-repayable support. It is mostly not a grant programme to apply to: the bulk goes to the state budget. Money reaches businesses, municipalities and NGOs through banks, financial institutions, state programmes and individual calls.
- Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (UCF) The Ukrainian Cultural Foundation is a state institution funding cultural and artistic projects competitively since 2018. Conditions are set per lot rather than for the Foundation as a whole, and its main difference from European donors is reporting on actual costs with a mandatory audit. UCF
- Work Programme The work programme is a European Commission decision setting out which calls will run in a given period, with what budgets and topics. It is the legal basis of a call, so the conditions of a topic have to be checked against the work programme for the year that the call belongs to. Horizon Europe
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