How to Write a Winning Horizon Europe Proposal: 10 Expert Tips

Writing a Horizon Europe proposal that scores above threshold and gets funded requires a strategic approach that goes far beyond good science. With success rates averaging 15–17% across most calls, your proposal needs to stand out on every evaluation criterion. Here are our top 10 tips based on years of experience and hundreds of successful proposals.

1. Start with the Evaluation Criteria

Before writing a single word, study the evaluation criteria for your specific call type. Horizon Europe proposals are typically evaluated on three criteria:

• Excellence (threshold 4/5): Scientific and technological quality
• Impact (threshold 4/5): Societal, economic, and environmental impact
• Quality and Efficiency of Implementation (threshold 3/5): Work plan, consortium, and resources

Structure your proposal to directly address each criterion and sub-criterion. Evaluators use these as a checklist — make their job easy.

2. Nail the First Paragraph

Evaluators read dozens of proposals per call. Your opening paragraph must immediately convey what your project does, why it matters, and why your consortium is uniquely positioned to deliver it. Think of it as your elevator pitch.

A strong opening should include:

• The key problem or opportunity you’re addressing
• Your proposed solution in one sentence
• The expected impact
• Why now and why this consortium

3. Use a Clear Beyond-State-of-the-Art Narrative

The excellence section requires you to demonstrate how your approach goes beyond what’s currently available. Create a clear comparison table showing:

Aspect	Current State of the Art	Your Project’s Advance
Feature 1	Limitation	Your innovation
Feature 2	Gap	Your solution

This visual approach makes it immediately clear to evaluators what your contribution is.

4. Design Measurable Impact Pathways

Impact is where many proposals lose critical points. Don’t just list potential impacts — design concrete pathways to achieve them. For each expected impact:

1. Define the specific outcome
2. Identify the target stakeholder
3. Describe the mechanism for achieving impact
4. Set measurable Key Impact Pathways (KIPs)
5. Define a realistic timeline

5. Build a Balanced Consortium

Your consortium should demonstrate:

• Complementarity: Each partner brings unique, essential expertise
• Balance: Geographic diversity across EU member states
• Critical mass: Sufficient resources to achieve objectives
• Track record: Proven ability to deliver in the domain

Avoid having too many partners from one country or including partners without clear roles.

6. Create a Realistic Work Plan

Your Gantt chart and work package structure should tell a coherent story. Common mistakes include:

• Overlapping work packages with unclear boundaries
• Unrealistic timelines for complex deliverables
• Missing dependencies between tasks
• Unbalanced effort distribution across partners

Each work package should have clear objectives, deliverables, milestones, and risk mitigation measures.

7. Address Ethics and Gender Proactively

Don’t treat ethics and gender as an afterthought. Evaluators look for:

• Gender balance in the project team and advisory boards
• Gender dimension in research content where relevant
• Comprehensive ethics assessment
• GDPR compliance for data-intensive projects

8. Write for Non-Specialists

Remember that at least some evaluators may not be deep experts in your specific sub-field. Use clear, jargon-free language where possible. Define technical terms on first use. Use diagrams and figures to explain complex concepts.

9. Budget Wisely

Your budget should be realistic, justified, and proportionate to the work described. Common red flags include:

• Excessive travel budgets
• Unclear subcontracting justifications
• Disproportionate personnel costs relative to tasks
• Missing budget justification for large equipment

10. Get External Review Before Submission

Always have your proposal reviewed by someone outside your project team. Ideally, this should be someone with evaluation experience who can provide an objective assessment against the evaluation criteria.

Common Mistakes That Kill Proposals

Based on our experience reviewing hundreds of Evaluation Summary Reports:

1. Weak impact section: Vague statements instead of concrete, measurable impacts
2. Unclear innovation: Not clearly distinguishing from state of the art
3. Consortium imbalance: Too many partners from one country, missing key expertise
4. Poor structure: Dense text without clear headings, figures, or tables
5. Exceeding page limits: Evaluators stop reading at the page limit

Ready to Write a Winning Proposal?

If you’re preparing a Horizon Europe submission and want expert support, our Horizon Europe consultants can help you maximize your chances of success. From proposal architecture to final review, we’ve helped teams strengthen collaborative applications across the EU. Get in touch for a free consultation.