From Research Idea to Horizon Europe Project (AS6)

TwinODIS · AS6 Seminar
Wednesday, 9 December 2026

From Research Idea to Horizon Europe Project

Proposal Development and Grant Management
Online Seminar · 13:00–16:00 CET

Hosted by Prof. Rommert Dekker · Erasmus University Rotterdam

About the Seminar

From Research to Funding

As part of the TwinODIS capacity-building programme, this seminar supports researchers, particularly those at an early stage of their careers, in exploring collaborative funding opportunities under Horizon Europe and building the confidence to pursue them.

Against an increasingly competitive European funding landscape, the seminar examines recent developments, evolving funding opportunities and the implications of submission trends and success rates for future applicants.

Through practical guidance, real-world examples and interactive exercises, participants will follow the journey from identifying a suitable call and developing a strong consortium to preparing a coherent proposal and realistic budget. The seminar will also explore responsible use of generative AI in proposal development, post-award grant management and institutional support throughout the project lifecycle.

Speakers

Expert Insights
Prof. Rommert Dekker

Prof. Rommert Dekker

Professor of Operations Research, Quantitative Logistics and IT, Erasmus School of Economics

Rommert Dekker is a professor of operations research, quantitative logistics, and IT at the Erasmus School of Economics. He currently leads an industry-sponsored research programme on service logistics and has received several distinctions for the practical impact of his research, including ERIM’s Impact Award and the OR Society’s Goodeve Medal. He began his career at Shell Research and has published extensively on reverse logistics, service logistics, inventory control, maintenance optimisation, container logistics, and transport optimisation. He was also a co-founder of the REVLOG network for reverse logistics.

Anca Miclea-Făciu

Anca Miclea-Făciu

Senior Collaborative Proposal Development Partner, Engagement & Research Services, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Anca Miclea-Făciu is Senior Collaborative Proposal Development Partner in the Grants team at Engagement & Research Services (ERS), Erasmus University Rotterdam. She works closely with researchers to develop and coordinate major collaborative research initiatives, providing strategic and hands-on support through the university’s Coordinatorship Enablement Packages (CEP). With 20 years of experience in European funding across the public and private sectors, Anca has worked as a consultant, proposal developer, project evaluator and project manager. Her experience spans various fields, including education, social inclusion, human capital and entrepreneurship. She is passionate about helping researchers identify funding opportunities, develop competitive collaborative proposals and take on leading roles in international research initiatives.

Marcel Langone Marques

Marcel Langone Marques

Project Manager, Major Research Initiatives, Engagement & Research Services, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Marcel Langone Marques is Project Manager at Erasmus University Rotterdam, with over four years of experience managing international collaborative research and innovation projects funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme. His work focuses on project coordination, consortium management, stakeholder engagement, and the administrative and financial management of EU-funded projects. He works closely with researchers and international partners to support effective project implementation, facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration, and ensure that research activities contribute to the projects’ objectives and expected impact.

Who Should Attend?

Online Participation
Late-stage PhD candidates Postdoctoral researchers Early- and mid-career researchers Principal investigators Researchers at FORTH, UPC and EUR Researchers across the partners’ wider ecosystems

The seminar is intended for researchers preparing, or planning to prepare, individual or collaborative Horizon Europe proposals. Participation is online.

Learning Objectives

Practical Outcomes

Horizon Europe Funding Opportunities

Navigate Horizon Europe and identify funding calls that are relevant to your research interests.

Competitive Proposal Development

Address call requirements, evaluation criteria and reviewer expectations to strengthen proposal quality and competitiveness.

Consortium Building

Identify complementary partners and understand their contributions and roles within a collaborative project.

Project Budgeting

Understand the main budget components and align resources and costs with the project work plan.

Responsible Use of AI

Explore how AI can support call analysis and proposal preparation, with appropriate verification and awareness of European Commission guidance.

Grant Management

Understand the main responsibilities and requirements when implementing and managing a funded Horizon Europe project.

Institutional Support

Discover available tools, expertise and research support services, with Erasmus University Rotterdam as an example.

Seminar Agenda

Interactive Sessions

The seminar covers the key stages of Horizon Europe proposal development and grant management, from identifying funding opportunities to post-award implementation, using a practical call example from Cluster 4 or Cluster 5. All times below are CET.

9 December 2026 · 13:00–14:45 CET

Part I – From Call to Competitive Proposal

Introduction by Prof. Rommert Dekker, followed by proposal development sessions led by Anca Miclea-Făciu, Senior Collaborative Proposal Development Partner, Engagement & Research Services, Erasmus University Rotterdam.

13:00–13:055 min

Introduction

Introduction to TwinODIS and the learning objectives of the seminar.

Presentation
13:05–13:1510 min

Horizon Europe: What’s changing?

Funding landscape, competition, success rates and AI guidance for applicants and evaluators.

Presentation
13:15–13:3015 min

Finding and understanding the right call

Live demonstration of the Funding & Tenders Portal; reading topic scope, expected outcomes and impacts; using CORDIS to explore funded projects; AI-assisted call analysis.

Presentation + live demo
13:30–13:4515 min

Exercise 1: Call detective

Group exercise to analyse a call, identify its requirements and discuss potential research contributions.

Group exercise
13:45–14:0520 min

Developing a competitive proposal

Part A and Part B; Excellence, Impact and Implementation; objectives, methodology, work packages and project coherence. Evaluation criteria, scoring and thresholds, reviewer expectations, common weaknesses, AI-use disclosure and a short reviewer exercise.

Presentation + mini-exercise
14:05–14:105 min

Coffee break

14:10–14:2515 min

Building a strong consortium and a realistic budget

Selecting complementary partners; coordinator, work-package leader and partner roles; partner searches through CORDIS and the Funding & Tenders Portal. Budget categories, personnel costs, work-package resources, lump sums and alignment between plan and budget.

Presentation + demo
14:25–14:3510 min

Exercise 2: From idea to project concept

Group work to develop a mini project concept, identifying objectives, activities, partners and resources.

Group exercise
14:35–14:405 min

How EUR supports collaborative grants

Overview of ERS and the Grants team, Coordinatorship Enablement Packages (CEP), proposal development workflows and tools such as Research Connect, Global Campus and Miro.

Presentation
14:40–14:455 min

Coffee break

9 December 2026 · 14:45–15:30 CET

Part II – Grant Management in Horizon Europe

Led by Marcel Langone Marques, Project Manager, Major Research Initiatives, Engagement & Research Services, Erasmus University Rotterdam. This part focuses on managing collaborative projects after funding has been awarded.

14:45–14:5510 min

Beyond research: Understanding the Horizon Europe project environment

From individual research to collaborative implementation; responsibilities of consortium partners, work-package leaders and scientific coordinators; Grant Agreement commitments, deliverables, milestones and reporting obligations; interdisciplinary and multicultural collaboration.

Presentation + practical examples
14:55–15:0510 min

From scientific excellence to meaningful impact

Aligning scientific ambitions with contractual commitments; project deliverables versus publications; planning exploitation; turning research into societal, economic and policy benefits through stakeholder engagement, co-design, validation and citizen science.

Presentation + practical examples
15:05–15:1510 min

When things don’t go according to plan: Managing challenges and change

Implementation challenges such as delays, partner underperformance, conflicts and changing circumstances; communication, risk management, timely decisions and amendments to safeguard objectives.

Presentation + practical examples
15:15–15:3015 min

Exercise 3: When the project goes off track

Respond to an unexpected implementation challenge, identify implications for the consortium and project objectives, and propose practical solutions.

Group exercise
Interactive learning: Group exercises and Mentimeter questions will encourage discussion on prior EU project experience, opportunities and challenges in collaborative grants, and access to institutional research support.