Horizon Europe

The programme is built around three main pillars: Excellent Science (supporting top researchers and infrastructures), Global Challenges & European Industrial Competitiveness (mission-oriented and cluster-based funding), and Innovative Europe (including the European Innovation Council, European innovation ecosystems, and support for the European Institute of Innovation and Technology). In practice, Horizon Europe offers a mix of instruments: collaborative R&D projects, researcher mobility (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions), frontier research (European Research Council), innovation acceleration (EIC Pathfinder/Transition/Accelerator), and partnerships that align public and private investments. 

For Brussels-based actors, Horizon Europe is both an opportunity and a discipline. The opportunity lies in access to large-scale budgets, high-level networks, and credibility that comes from EU-level selection. The discipline is the need to work with consortia, comply with strong governance and reporting requirements, demonstrate impact, and align proposals to EU priorities and work programmes. Successful participation often requires strategic positioning—identifying the right calls early, building relationships with consortium partners, and developing proposals that connect local strengths to European value creation. Beyond direct funding, Horizon Europe participation can anchor organizations in EU-standard practices around ethics, open science, data management, and exploitation planning, which can raise internal capabilities and improve readiness for future scaling. 

A part of Innoviris’ mandate is representing the Brussels-Capital Region within organisations, institutions and ad hoc committees linked to scientific research at regional, federal, European and international level, and promoting Brussels as an international crossroads for science and technology. In Horizon Europe specifically, Innoviris participates in three complementary roles: (1) funding organisation co-financing European programmes and projects, (2) direct partner in selected research projects, and (3) Belgian delegate involved in the relevant Horizon Europe programme committees, with a key role as Belgium’s first delegate in the Programme Committee of the European Innovation Council (EIC). This role helps ensure that Brussels’ ecosystem realities and opportunities are reflected in discussions that shape implementation—especially where innovation support and scaling instruments are concerned. 

To support Brussels stakeholders in accessing EU funding, Innoviris has delegated the tasks of the NCP network to hub.brussels. The primary objective of NCP Brussels is to help Brussels-based actors participate more effectively in European research and innovation projects, with the ultimate aim of translating research and innovation into real-world value and market implementation. While the NCP unit mainly targets SMEs and companies, it is also available to public actors, non-profit organisations and universities. This supports economic growth and employment in the Brussels-Capital Region through a multiplier effect of R&I funding.