Getting started with Horizon Europe: Reflections from Aotearoa New Zealand
cath battersby | september 2026
New Zealand officially associated to Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe in mid-2023. Like Australia, it was not our first exposure to EU funding, but the shift from being valued international collaborators to funded partners brought a new set of opportunities and challenges.
I came into this work more than a year later from an international office background, learning by doing alongside researchers, research managers and colleagues trying to make sense of what association meant in practice.
After two years of supporting researchers, talking to partners in Europe and other associated countries, reading work programmes, navigating copious resources and webinars, and pacing my coffee intake around meetings in multiple time zones, I offer these suggestions to help Australian researchers, research managers and institutions start preparing for 1 January 2027.
Photo by UX Indonesia on Unsplash
Three tips for researchers
1. It all starts with relationships
Horizon Europe is an enormous funding scheme, with many layers and complexities. But like many funding systems, it is underpinned by people and relationships. By the time a topic officially opens on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, consortium development will likely have been underway for months. The earlier you begin your outreach, the better your chances of being part of those conversations and being part of winning consortia.
Start now! Connect with past and present collaborators in Europe, send emails, post on LinkedIn, and make the most of study leave and conference travel – make it clear that Australia is now an associated country and you can join as a funded partner. There are also practical ways to expand your network without leaving your desk: leverage your university’s existing partnerships and alliances, register for matchmaking and brokerage events, post on cluster-specific platforms, and explore the CORDIS database to see which organisations and consortia have been successful in your area of research.
2. Read topics for fit, not just keywords
I have made the mistake of seeing a familiar word in a topic description and getting excited too quickly. A topic may appear to fit because it mentions “carbon storage”, “health inequities”, “food systems”, or “social innovation”, but the real question is whether your work fits the expected outcomes, the scope, the policy context and the cross-cutting priorities the call is trying to address.
AI is a helpful tool for the initial scanning, but keep in mind that the useful question is not so much “Is this in my field?” but “What problem is this consortium likely trying to solve, and where could my work make a distinctive contribution?”
3. Make your expertise easy for potential partners to understand
Pillar 2 projects are large, complex, multi-year programmes. Coordinators are often looking across many possible partners, usually under time pressure and with a specific gap in mind. A long academic profile may be impressive, but it will not always answer the question they are really asking: where would this person or research group fit in our consortium?
Make that answer easy. A short capability statement, one or two relevant project examples, a clear note about the population, place or context you work in, and any industry or community partners you could bring to the consortium. If you are open to a particular role, such as leading a work package or contributing a defined piece of expertise or data set, say so.
Most of the cluster-specific platforms have partner search templates you can adapt, but the principle is simple: help a potential coordinator quickly understand what you bring, and why it matters.
Three tips for research offices and institutions
1. Develop internal capability before demand peaks
Horizon Europe is exciting but bureaucratic! There are clusters, destinations, topics, roles, rules, databases and dashboards. It can feel overwhelming on top of an already busy role.
One thing I would do early is identify a small group of people in your research office who can become familiar with the common questions and pitfalls that arise across the Horizon Europe process. They do not need to become Horizon Europe specialists overnight, but they can make the system feel much more manageable by translating guidance, documenting common mistakes and frequently asked questions, and pointing researchers to the next useful step. You probably already have a template repository and key instructions for your domestic funding schemes. Start building the equivalent for Pillar 2 now.
2. Get the basics sorted
This is the least glamorous tip, but possibly one of the most useful. Make sure your institution is fully registered and set up in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal well before anyone is gathering information for a proposal. You will need a Participant Identification Code (PIC), the unique nine-digit number used to identify organisations in the portal. You may discover you do not have one yet, or that there are two (this happened to me!), or that an old profile is connected to someone who left years ago. Work out who has access, who the authorised representatives are, and whether your institutional profile is current. Better to sort it now than while a coordinator in another time zone is waiting for your details.
3. Build topic intelligence before deadlines arrive
Work programmes are dense, and it takes time to work out where researchers might genuinely fit. Research offices can help by scanning the 2027 topics now, mapping researcher strengths and institutional priorities, tracking likely opportunities and helping researchers understand what the calls are really asking for.
Start with the willing: researchers who already have European collaborators, international networks, or a clear interest in, and suitability for, large collaborative projects. Run short information sessions to build awareness, then follow up with practical workshops where researchers can look at live topics, test their fit and think about how to pitch their expertise to potential partners. It is also worth setting up a simple information page on your staff intranet, with key links, templates, contacts and next steps clearly signposted, so people know where to go when the first questions arrive.
Growing into association
Association may begin on a particular date, but readiness is built over time. It grows as researchers learn where they fit, research managers learn how to translate the system, and institutions build the knowledge and connections that make participation possible.
If I were starting again, I would worry less about having all the answers and focus more on the things that make participation feel possible: knowing who to talk to, helping researchers explain their value clearly, fixing the quiet administrative things before they become urgent, and making the next step easier to take.
