International Funding

Our mission is to positively impact the environment, animal well-being and the health of consumers.

INTRODUCTION

VistaMilk International Funding

Since the launch of the Centre in September 2018, VistaMilk researchers have already been participating in 32 EU-funded projects. Team members now coordinate 4 large EU projects totalling over €50 million and involving more than 120 partners. In total, the VistaMilk team has secured over €11M in EU grants.

Most of these projects are funded by Horizon 2020, the EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, across its different sub-programmes (including Marie Curie and FET-Open), but also by Interreg and Life.

VistaMilk has a dedicated team responsible for supporting both national and international funding opportunities supporting proposals development, facilitating partner searches and navigating open calls. We also facilitate access to the National Contact Points and National Delegates to advise and support our team when applying for funding.

If you are interested in collaborating with VistaMilk in EU-funded projects and programmes, then please contact one of the team (VistaMilk@teagasc.ie)

CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES

EU Mission – A Soil Deal for Europe

Background: Missions will form an integral part of the Horizon Europe research programme. They are bold and inspirational with clear objectives that are time-bound, realistic, measurable and targeted to deliver concrete results by 2030. The mission, A Soil Deal for Europe, will establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.

Who can Apply: Researchers (permanent researchers)

Funding: €6 – €12 million

Next call: The 2023-2024 Work Programme includes 9 topics for 2023. The deadline for submission is 20 September 2023. See the Work Programme pdf or the relevant topic pages and contact tj.mcauiffe@teagasc.ie if you are considering an application. Recordings of the Mission Info Days (17-18 January) are available by clicking on the Programme tab and “Watch replay”, slide are available by clicking on “Show details”.

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023

Reference: HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01-01

Deadline: 13 Sep 2023

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships enhance the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD and who wish to acquire new skills through advanced training, international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility. MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships will be open to excellent researchers of any nationality.

The scheme also encourages researchers to work on research and innovation projects in the non-academic sector and is open to researchers wishing to reintegrate in Europe, to those who are displaced by conflict, as well as to researchers with high potential who are seeking to restart their careers in research.

Fellowships will be provided to excellent researchers, undertaking international mobility either to or between EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, as well as to non-associated Third Countries. Applications will be made jointly by the researcher and a beneficiary in the academic or non-academic sector.

Postdoctoral Fellowships either can take place in Europe (i.e. in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country) or in a Third Country not associated to Horizon Europe:

European Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality who wish to engage in R&I projects by either coming to Europe from any country in the world or moving within Europe. The standard duration of these fellowships must be between 12 and 24 months.
Global Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to European nationals or long-term residents who wish to engage in R&I projects with organisations outside EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. These fellowships require an outgoing phase of minimum 12 and maximum 24 months in a non-associated Third Country, and a mandatory 12-month return phase to a host organisation based in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country.

Specific eligibility conditions apply to MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships in the research areas covered by the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025.

Who can Apply: Researchers (permanent staff) as mentors, postdoctoral researchers as applicants (NB: mobility rule)

Funding: fixed unit costs for the postdoctoral fellow (living, mobility & family allowance), research, training & networking costs and management & indirect costs.

Further info: Call Topic page Net4Mobility+ webinar

Applicant researchers & supervisors should register with the VistaMilk external funding manager tj.mcauliffe@teagasc.ie

2022 Proposal Writing Workshop recording (slides available from tj.mcauliffe@teagasc.ie)

Recording & slides from the Irish MSCA PF 2023 Webinar available here

MSCA Doctoral Networks 2023

Reference: HORIZON-MSCA-2023-DN-01-01

Deadline: 28 Nov 2023

MSCA Doctoral Networks will implement doctoral programmes, by partnerships of universities, research institutions and research infrastructures, businesses including SMEs, and other socio-economic actors from different countries across Europe and beyond.

MSCA Doctoral Networks are indeed open to the participation of organisations from third countries, in view of fostering strategic international partnerships for the training and exchange of researchers.

These doctoral programmes will respond to well-identified needs in various R&I areas, expose the researchers to the academic and non-academic sectors, and offer training in research-related, as well as transferable skills and competences relevant for innovation and long-term employability (e.g. entrepreneurship, commercialisation of results, Intellectual Property Rights, communication).

Proposals for doctoral networks can reflect existing or planned research partnerships among the participating organisations.

The selection procedure for doctoral candidates must be open, transparent and merit-based, in line with the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The vacancy notice (to be widely advertised internationally, including on the EURAXESS website) must include the gross salary (not including employer’s social contributions) offered to the researcher.

MSCA Doctoral Networks are encouraged to lead to Industrial or Joint Doctorates.

Who can Apply: Researchers (permanent staff)

Funding: max. 540 Person-Months for each DN. Funding comprises fixed unit costs for the recruited researchers (living, mobility & family allowance), research, training & networking costs and management & indirect costs.

Further info: Call Topic page Net4Mobility+ webinar

Recording & slides from the Irish Webinar on 26 April available here

Bitesize overview of MSCA DN 2022

European Research Council (ERC)

Mission: to encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding and to support investigator-driven frontier research across all fields, on the basis of scientific excellence. ERC calls are ‘bottom-up’, allowing researchers to identify new opportunities and directions in any field of research. Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of excellence as the sole criterion.

There are several different types of grants:

ERC Starting Grants:

– for researchers of any nationality with 2-7 years of experience since the completion of their PhD, a scientific track record showing great promise and an excellent research proposal

– Funding of up to €1.5 million for a period of 5 years (+ possible additional €1M)

– Next deadline: 24 October 2023 (tentative)

– More info here

ERC Consolidator Grants:

– for researchers with 7-12 years of experience since completion of PhD, a scientific track record showing great promise and an excellent research proposal

– Funding of up to €2 million for a period of 5 years (+ possible additional €1M)

– Next deadline: 12 December 2023 (tentative)

– More info here

ERC Advanced Grants:

– for active researchers with a track-record of significant research achievements in the last 10 years. The Principal Investigators should be exceptional leaders in terms of originality and significance of their research contributions

– Funding of up to €2.5 million for a period of 5 years (+ possible additional €1M)

– Next deadline: 22 May 2024 (tentative)

– More info here

Pillar 2 – Global Challenges & European Industrial Competitiveness

Cluster 6 – Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Background: Pillar 2 under Horizon Europe aims to turn the results of research into innovative solutions to improve citizens’ daily lives by tackling global challenges. R&I activities are organised across 6 thematic areas called Clusters and there is a huge emphasis on achieving and demonstrating impact. Cluster 6 relates to Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment.

Who can Apply: Researchers (permanent staff)

Funding: project funding ranges from €0.4M – €23M, depending on the topic (average ~ €6M). Staff costs (permanent + contract), T&S, equipment, other goods, works & services and indirect costs are eligible.

Next calls:

The next Cluster 6 call deadlines are from 21-28 February 2024. For more info, see the Work Programme pdf or the relevant topic pages and contact tj.mcauliffe@teagasc.ie if you are considering an application.
For tips on getting involved in Horizon Europe advisory networks, check out the presentations from the EU CAP Network Brokerage event (Sofia, Jan 2023).

Background: COST Actions help to connect research initiatives across Europe and beyond and enable researchers and innovators to grow their ideas in any science and technology field by sharing them with their peers.

Scope: A COST Action is an interdisciplinary research network that brings researchers and innovators together to investigate a topic of their choice for 4 years. They are typically made up of researchers (of any level of seniority) from academia, SMEs, public institutions and other relevant organisations or interested parties. They are bottom-up networks open to all science and technology fields, including new and emerging fields.

Who can Apply: Permanent or contract researchers

Funding: average annual budget of €130,000 per Action for networking activities (e.g. events, Short-term Scientific Missions, Training Schools, communication activities)

How to get involved:

Participate in an existing Action – browse Cost Actions here
Submit a proposal for a new Action via the Open Call 2023. The next collection date is 25 October 2023 at 12.00 (noon) CEST. More info here. View the slides, Q&A & recording from the online COST Info Day on 24 May here.

Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU)

Background: The CBE JU is a €2 billion partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) that funds projects advancing competitive circular bio-based industries under Horizon Europe. It is the successor of the BBI JU. The 2023 Call will open on the 26 April 2023.

Who can Apply: Permanent researchers

Funding: typically in the range of €3 million to €17 million

Application Deadline: 20 September 2023 17:00 CET

More info: Visit the Call page and watch the Info Day recording from 20^th April

LIFE Programme

Background: The LIFE Programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. Any legal persons registered in the EU are eligible to apply and applications are encouraged from public and private organisations seeking co-funding for projects, including large and small companies, local government and other public authorities, NGOs, Higher Education Institutes and community groups. The LIFE programme has four sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and clean energy transition.

Who can Apply: Permanent researchers

Funding: typically in the range of €1million to €5 million with durations of 3 – 5 years

Application Deadline: September 2023 (various dates)

More info: Slides from the Irish LIFE Information Day 2023 available soon. View the recording and slides from the EU LIFE Info Days 2023 here. Visit the EC’s LIFE website and the LIFE page on gov.ie.

European Innovation Council (EIC)

Background: The EIC promotes breakthrough innovation with scale-up potential at the global level. It focuses mainly on breakthrough, deep-tech and disruptive innovation, targeting especially market-creating innovation. The EIC also supports strategic technology and innovation challenges.

Areas of support: The three main areas of intervention are:

Pathfinder funding: for advanced research, supporting early-stage development of future and emerging breakthrough, market-creating and/or deep tech technologies. There is an Open Call (closed for 2023) and an EIC Pathfinder Challenges Call. The 2023 Challenges include:

Precision nutrition (deadline 18 October 2023)

Transition funding: to help researchers and innovators develop the pathway to commercial development for promising research results
Accelerator funding: to support individual SMEs, start-ups and small mid-caps to develop and scale up game-changing innovations.

More info: On the EIC funding page and the Funding & Tenders portal

ECO-READY Open Call for Living Labs

Background: This call will support the establishment of a network of living labs to facilitate knowledge sharing and data collection related to food security, climate change and biodiversity. The aim is to ultimately support European agri-food systems security and resilience and involve input from all relevant stakeholders.

Targeted applicants: partners specialised in 1 or more of the following: food security, biodiversity, climate change. The Living Labs should be composed of 2-5 partners, with at least 1 scientific/technical/commercial partner and at least 1 community of users (e.g. farmers’ cooperatives, consumer associations, civil society organisations).

Who can Apply: Permanent researchers

Funding: up to €400k per project and €60k-200k per partner for 24-month projects

Application Deadline: 31 August 2023 17:00 Brussels time

More info: Visit the Call page

EFSA Call on Animal Care & Welfare

Background: The objective of this call is to sign two grant agreements (one per lot) to carry out the activities in the area of animal welfare described in the two lots below (lots are independent of each other):

Lot 1 – Risk-based model for dairy herd welfare: field data collection
Lot 2 – Modelling effective temperatures inside a livestock truck and demonstrating the conditions that will allow the animals to drink.

Who can Apply: Permanent researchers

Funding: Lot 1: Max. €500k for 30-month duration grant; Lot 2: Max. €500k for 24-month duration grant. Grant amounts paid by EFSA are based on the pre-defined sums which are not linked to the actual costs of the action.

Application Deadline: 15 September 2023 23:59 (CEST)

More info: Visit the Call page

OECD – Co-operative Research Programme (CRP)’s call

Conferences;

The Co-operative Research Programme (CRP)’s call for applications for funding international conferences (such as workshops, congresses and symposia) and research fellowships grants in 2024 is OPEN.
The OECD’s Co-operative Research Programme: Sustainable Agricultural and Food Systems (CRP) exists to strengthen scientific knowledge and provide relevant scientific information and advice that will inform future policy decisions related to the sustainable use of natural resources in the areas of agriculture, food, fisheries and forests.
3 Themes: Managing natural capital, Strengthening resilience in the face of multiple risks in a connected world and Transformational technologies and innovation.
Deadline to apply: 10 September 2023 midnight (Paris time, CET)
Conference max grant €40k

Fellowships;

Applicants should have 4 years of postdoctoral training
Applicants should have a contract with their present employer that ensures their continued employment after completion of the fellowship.
Fellowships may be from 6 to 26 weeks.
Funding; Travel cost, €600/650 weekly subsistence allowance and €165 terminal costs