#204 Idea Development Workshop (1) - Call Text Analysis

22/12/2025 34 min Episodio 204

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Episode Synopsis

Idea Development Workshop (1) – Reading a Horizon Europe CallBudgets, outcomes, scope and decoding the fine printHere you find all the information you need for this episode: https://www.thegrant.eu/204-206In this first episode of this three-part Idea Development Workshop mini-series, I sit down with Ana-Marija Špicnagel (IPS Konzalting) to take the time to read and analyse a Horizon Europe call text, line by line. Using an old Horizon Europe Mission Soil call on soil biodiversity, we start with the basics that shape your whole idea – budget per project, number of projects to be funded, type of action and co-funding rates (including what 70% means for SMEs and how grants to third parties change your consortium logic). We then look at how the call anchors itself in EU strategies like Farm to Fork, the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the SDGs, and why that matters for partner choice and story-telling. From there we unpack expected outcomes, scope and proposed activities: what the Commission really expects you to deliver, how to read the small words (“need to”, “should”, “may”), and how to see when you must cover all bullets rather than “at least some”. We also touch on demonstration and on-field work vs purely lab research, multi-actor requirements, links to sister projects and platforms, and why exploitation planning is now baked into the call text. Throughout the episode, Ana shares practical habits like re-reading the call every two weeks during proposal development to make sure your great idea still fits what is actually being asked.Time codes:00:02:35 Introduction00:06:18 Fly in00:08:52 Call at a glance00:17:18 The Expected Outcomes00:21:20 The Scope (what you actually have to do)