Horizon Europe Association: 6 Tips for Research Managers and University Leaders

When a country becomes formally associated with Horizon Europe, it marks a new era for its research and innovation ecosystem.

Crowdhelix has helped universities and organisations from countries that have associated with Horizon Europe. Most recently, Crowdhelix’s expert team have been working with six Canadian universities, assisting senior leaders in identifying strategic funding opportunities and helping researchers develop connections with European counterparts.

For universities, research institutions, and innovative businesses, this shift is more than administrative, it is strategic. Overnight, European networks, funding instruments, and policy forums become fully accessible.

For senior university leaders, research managers, and business executives, understanding what lies ahead is essential. What changes? What stays the same? And how should institutions prepare for this new reality?

Crowdhelix is ideally positioned to help organisations overcome some of the key challenges they’ll face during the early stages of Horizon Europe association.

Here are six expectations, hurdles, and insights leaders should keep in mind:

‍

1. Immediate Access, But Not Immediate Advantage

Association brings formal eligibility to participate in all or some parts of Horizon Europe, including prestigious instruments like the ERC, MSCA, and EIC. However, eligibility does not equal readiness.

Many institutions underestimate the time needed to build capacity, develop networks, and understand the nuances of EU proposal systems. Expect a transitional phase in which early wins may be limited, but the learning curve will pay off in the medium term.

Institutional takeaway: Use the first year to build capability. Crowdhelix offers a powerful matchmaking platform and hosts impact-driven matchmaking events where researchers and project teams can explore relevant Horizon Europe calls, join consortia, and engage with organisations accustomed to the nuances of the European research landscape.

2. Increased Demand for Administrative and Strategic Capacity

Horizon Europe participation requires a high degree of institutional coordination. Representatives from a variety of departments, ranging from financial management to impact planning, risk, ethics, and communications, will need to collaborate in ways they never have before.

For most organisations, this means more than just managing new workflows; it requires a substantial cultural shift.

You can expect internal systems and processes to face new pressures. Research support teams will need to learn a new bureaucratic vocabulary, understand new roles and reporting procedures, and manage the complexity of contributing to multinational projects.

Institutional takeaway: Crowdhelix’s AI-powered platform creates capacity for innovators and research managers by allowing them to quickly identify collaboration opportunities and connect with ambitious organisations.
Researchers and supervisors can also leverage ReviewIQ, Crowdhelix’s new AI-powered tool designed to refine and elevate MSCA proposals.
Organisational leaders can attend Crowdhelix training events, and rewatch them on the Crowdhelix platform, to gain the tools and knowledge needed to navigate new workflows and reporting procedures.

3. More Collaboration and Funding Opportunities, Less National Competition

Horizon Europe encourages cross-border collaboration, making multinational consortia the norm.

National competition gives way to transnational partnerships. While domestic success may have been built on individual excellence, EU funding success often comes through strategic alignment, interdisciplinarity, and the ability to deliver commercial or societal impact.

As researchers shift their attention from national research programmes to leading or joining Horizon Europe consortia, organisations will need to adjust incentives and reward structures accordingly.

Institutional takeaway: Leverage Crowdhelix’s 50+ themed innovation communities, or Helixes, to find partners beyond your national network. Whether your focus is Health, Climate, or Security, Helix communities are designed to connect you with global experts and innovators.

4. From National Priorities to European Research Agendas

One of the most significant shifts institutions face after association is the need to align research activity with European, not just national, priorities.
Horizon Europe is designed around tackling shared societal challenges such as climate change, security, and public health. These pan-European missions require coordinated responses that transcend national research agendas.

For institutions used to framing their work within the priorities of national funding bodies or government strategies, this shift can feel subtle at first but becomes strategic over time.

Aligning with Horizon Europe means mapping institutional expertise to European Commission work programmes, understanding policy drivers behind thematic clusters, and positioning research to support long-term EU missions and goals.

This reorientation also affects internal decision-making. Research offices may need to make difficult choices about what areas to prioritise, invest in new capacities, and create support structures that generate successful responses to Horizon Europe funding calls.

Institutional takeaway: Crowdhelix’s dedicated Impact Acceleration Managers can map your organisation’s research strengths against relevant Horizon Europe programmes and identify partners to help you join or build consortia responding to competitive funding calls.

‍

5. Increased Scrutiny, Accountability, and Visibility

With participation in Horizon Europe comes exposure. Successes will be more visible, but so will shortcomings. Proposal evaluations, financial audits, and performance metrics will be held to high EU standards.

Expect greater institutional visibility across Europe, but also be prepared for more rigorous scrutiny from funders, partners, internal stakeholders and competitors.

Institutional takeaway: Embed quality assurance early. Crowdhelix’s proposal writing team can help build competitive Horizon Europe proposals.
Online training events, available to rewatch on the Crowdhelix platform, can help administrative teams navigate compliance processes, while Impact Acceleration Managers are available to ensure that KPIs are met.

6. A Shift in Institutional Identity

Finally, association with Horizon Europe is more than an operational change, it’s a reputational one.

Institutions that actively participate are seen not just as national actors, but as part of the global research and innovation fabric. This can transform how you are perceived by partners, funders, policymakers, and competitors.

As you begin to deliver success, expect to be invited to more strategic conversations, but also held to higher standards of collaboration, impact, and engagement.

Institutional takeaway: Crowdhelix can help your institution build its global profile through high-impact events, success-story amplification through targeted engagement strategies, and the strategic placement of research results within our Helix communities.

Conclusion

Joining Horizon Europe is more than a milestone, it’s a strategic inflection point. To succeed, institutions must combine agility with structure, individual vision with multilateral collaboration, and ambition with execution.

Crowdhelix is here to help. Our global collaboration platform, trusted network of experts, and tailored onboarding support provide everything you need to maximise the opportunities presented by the Horizon Europe programme.

Discover how Crowhelix can help your university maximise its access to Horizon Europe: https://crowdhelix.com/solutions

‍

Michael Browne is the CEO of Crowdhelix. He possesses over 25 years of experience of building global innovation networks and partnerships designed to access public and private research funding.

‍