Glossary of funding terms

• Horizon Europe — The EU framework programme for research and innovation for 2021-2027, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/695 and structured in three pillars plus a part on widening participation.
• Pillar — One of the main parts of Horizon Europe: Pillar I 'Excellent Science' (ERC, MSCA, research infrastructures), Pillar II 'Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness' (six thematic clusters) and Pillar III 'Innovative Europe' (EIC, European innovation ecosystems, EIT).
• Cluster — A thematic block of Pillar II, for example 'Health' or 'Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society'; clusters fund mostly collaborative projects through calls set in the work programme.
• ERC / MSCA / EIC — European Research Council (investigator-driven frontier research grants), Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (doctoral and postdoctoral training and mobility) and European Innovation Council (support for breakthrough and market-creating innovation).
• Mission — A portfolio of research and innovation activities across disciplines and sectors that aims at a measurable goal within a set timeframe.
• European Partnership — An initiative in which the EU and public and/or private partners jointly support a programme of research and innovation activities, either co-programmed, co-funded or institutionalised.
• Widening countries — Member States and associated countries with low research and innovation performance listed in Regulation 2021/695; legal entities there can coordinate actions under the widening component and benefit from specific support.
• Associated country — A non-EU country that has an association agreement with Horizon Europe (or Erasmus+); its legal entities participate largely on the same terms as those from Member States.
• Work programme — The document adopted by the Commission that sets the objectives, budget, calls, topics and conditions for a period; Horizon Europe currently runs on the Work Programme 2026-2027.
• Call for proposals / Topic — A call is a group of topics open in parallel in the same policy area; a topic is the part of a call with one opening and one closing date, and all proposals for one topic are evaluated together and compete.
• Cut-off date — For continuously open topics, a date on which all proposals received so far are collected and evaluated together; a topic may have one deadline or several cut-offs.
• Funding & Tenders Portal — The European Commission's single entry point for calls, partner search, electronic proposal submission and grant management for most centrally managed EU programmes.

Sources: Regulation (EU) 2021/695 establishing Horizon Europe (Art. 2, 4, 16) (European Parliament and Council of the EU, EUR-Lex, 28 Apr 2021); EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Online Manual, V1.3 (European Commission, 01 May 2026)

• Applicant — An organisation (or person) that submits an application in a grant award procedure; it becomes a beneficiary only once the grant agreement is signed.
• Legal entity — A natural or legal person with legal personality, or an entity without legal personality as allowed by the EU Financial Regulation; eligibility rules are expressed in terms of independent legal entities.
• Coordinator — The beneficiary that submits the proposal on behalf of the consortium, acts as the single contact point with the granting authority and receives and distributes the payments.
• Beneficiary — An organisation that signs the grant agreement, carries out part of the work and receives EU funding for its eligible costs.
• Affiliated entity — An entity with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary that implements action tasks and may declare its own eligible costs, without signing the grant agreement.
• Associated partner — An entity that implements action tasks but does not receive EU funding and cannot charge its costs to the grant; it is named in the grant agreement.
• Third party giving in-kind contributions — An entity that provides staff, equipment or other resources to a beneficiary free of charge or against payment; in Horizon Europe the costs of such contributions can be eligible under conditions.
• Subcontractor — An external provider contracted by a beneficiary to implement a defined part of the action tasks at market conditions; subcontracting is limited and must be foreseen in the proposal.
• Consortium / Consortium agreement — The group of beneficiaries implementing a project, and the private contract among them that settles internal organisation, intellectual property and liability; it is normally required in Horizon Europe and signed before the project starts.
• Granting authority — The Commission service or executive agency that awards and manages the grant on behalf of the EU.
• EU Login — The personal user account for EU online systems; every person who registers an organisation, submits a proposal or manages a grant on the Portal needs one.

Sources: EU Grants: AGA - Annotated Grant Agreement, V2.0 (European Commission, 01 Apr 2025 (PDF updated 19 Sep 2025)); EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Online Manual, V1.3 (European Commission, 01 May 2026); Erasmus+ Programme Guide, Part D: Glossary of terms - Common terms (European Commission, online version of the 2026 Guide (accessed 19 Oct 2026))

• Admissibility — Formal conditions a proposal must meet to be evaluated, such as submission by the deadline through the Portal, completeness and page limits (by default 40 pages for a full RIA or IA, 25 for a CSA, 10 for a first-stage proposal).
• Eligibility — Conditions on who may take part and in what composition; collaborative actions by default need at least three independent legal entities from three different Member States or associated countries, at least one of them from a Member State.
• Award criteria — The three criteria Excellence, Impact, and Quality and efficiency of the implementation, against which experts score full proposals.
• Threshold — The minimum score a proposal needs: each criterion is scored out of 5 with a threshold of 3, and the overall threshold is 10; for Innovation Actions the Impact score is weighted by 1.5 for ranking.
• Two-stage submission — A procedure in which a short first-stage proposal is evaluated on Excellence and Impact only (threshold 4 per criterion) before invited applicants submit a full proposal.
• Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) — The written outcome of the evaluation with scores and comments per criterion, sent to applicants with the evaluation result letter.
• Seal of Excellence — A quality label for proposals that passed all thresholds but could not be funded because of budget limits; with the applicant's consent, information may be shared with other funders.
• Grant agreement preparation (GAP) — The phase after a positive evaluation in which the consortium finalises grant data and annexes; the invitation is not a funding commitment, and signature is targeted about 3 months after the invitation letter.
• Evaluation review (redress) — A request to re-examine the evaluation procedure if an applicant believes a procedural error occurred; it must be filed within 30 days of the evaluation result letter.
• Gender equality plan (GEP) — An eligibility requirement for public bodies, research organisations and higher education establishments from Member States and associated countries: they must have a gender equality plan at grant signature.
• Technology Readiness Level (TRL) — A scale from TRL 1 (basic principles observed) to TRL 9 (actual system proven in an operational environment) used where a topic specifies the expected maturity of results.

Sources: Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027, Part 15: General Annexes (Annex XV) (European Commission, version as amended, PDF dated 29 Sep 2026); EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Online Manual, V1.3 (European Commission, 01 May 2026)

• Eligible costs — Costs that may be charged to the grant: actually incurred by the beneficiary during the action, indicated in the budget, connected to the action, identifiable and verifiable, compliant with national law, and reasonable.
• Actual costs — Costs that are real and recorded in the accounts, as opposed to estimated or budgeted amounts; in Horizon Europe this applies by default to personnel, subcontracting, purchase costs and financial support to third parties.
• Unit cost — A fixed amount per unit (for example per day of work or per participant) set in advance and multiplied by the number of units actually delivered.
• Lump sum — A global amount fixed in the grant agreement that is deemed to cover all costs of the action or of a work package; payment depends on completing the agreed work; costs need not be proven.
• Indirect costs (flat rate) — Overheads such as rent, administration and IT, reimbursed in Horizon Europe as 25 % of eligible direct costs, excluding subcontracting, financial support to third parties and unit costs or lump sums that already include indirect costs.
• Personnel costs and daily rate — Costs of staff working on the action, calculated with a daily rate of annual personnel costs divided by 215 days and multiplied by the days worked on the project, supported by time records.
• Purchase costs — Costs for travel and subsistence, equipment, and other goods, works and services bought for the action, such as consumables, publications or audit certificates.
• Funding rate — The share of eligible costs reimbursed: in Horizon Europe 100 % for Research and Innovation Actions and Coordination and Support Actions, 70 % for Innovation Actions (100 % for non-profit legal entities).
• No-profit rule — An EU grant must not produce a profit for the beneficiary; any surplus of revenues and grant over costs is deducted from the final grant amount.

Sources: Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027, Part 15: General Annexes (Annex XV) (European Commission, version as amended, PDF dated 29 Sep 2026); EU Grants: AGA - Annotated Grant Agreement, V2.0 (European Commission, 01 Apr 2025 (PDF updated 19 Sep 2025))

• Grant agreement / Model Grant Agreement (MGA) — The contract between the granting authority and the beneficiaries; all 2021-2027 EU programmes derive their grant agreements from the corporate EU Model Grant Agreement, explained article by article in the Annotated Grant Agreement (AGA).
• Pre-financing — An advance paid after signature so the consortium can start work; in Horizon Europe it is normally 160 % of the average EU funding per reporting period.
• Mutual Insurance Mechanism (MIM) — A Horizon Europe fund covering the risk of non-recovery from beneficiaries; between 5 % and 8 % of the maximum grant amount is retained from the pre-financing and transferred to it.
• Periodic report / Interim payment — The technical and financial report submitted at the end of each reporting period, on which the interim payment for that period is based.
• Continuous reporting — Ongoing reporting in the Portal on milestones, deliverables, the publishable summary, critical risks, publications and communication activities, independent of the periodic reports.
• Deliverable / Milestone — A deliverable is a defined output (report, data set, prototype) submitted to the granting authority; a milestone is a control point that marks a key step reached in the project.
• Final payment (balance) — The last payment calculated from the final report; if earlier payments exceed the final grant amount, the difference is recovered.
• Certificate on the Financial Statements (CFS) — An audit certificate by an independent auditor required in Horizon Europe from a beneficiary whose requested EU contribution to actual costs is EUR 430 000 or more.
• Amendment — A formal change to the grant agreement (for example to the consortium or the duration), requested through the Portal and signed by both sides.
• Checks, reviews and audits — Controls by the granting authority, the European Court of Auditors or OLAF under Article 25 of the grant agreement; supporting documents must normally be kept for 5 years after the balance payment (3 years for grants up to EUR 60 000).
• Results / Background / Access rights — Results are any outputs generated by the action; background is pre-existing knowledge needed for the action; access rights are the rights of partners to use each other's results or background under the grant rules.

Sources: EU Grants: AGA - Annotated Grant Agreement, V2.0 (European Commission, 01 Apr 2025 (PDF updated 19 Sep 2025)); Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027, Part 15: General Annexes (Annex XV) (European Commission, version as amended, PDF dated 29 Sep 2026); EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Online Manual, V1.3 (European Commission, 01 May 2026); Regulation (EU) 2021/695 establishing Horizon Europe (Art. 2, 4, 16) (European Parliament and Council of the EU, EUR-Lex, 28 Apr 2021)

• Key Action 1 / 2 / 3 — The three main action lines of Erasmus+: KA1 learning mobility of individuals, KA2 cooperation among organisations and institutions, KA3 support to policy development and cooperation; Jean Monnet actions form a separate strand.
• National Agency — A designated body that manages the implementation of Erasmus+ at national level in a Member State or third country associated to the programme.
• EACEA — The European Education and Culture Executive Agency, which manages centralised Erasmus+ actions (and parts of Cooperation Partnerships) at European level.
• Organisation ID (OID) — A unique number identifying an organisation for actions managed by National Agencies; it is separate from the Portal PIC used for centrally managed actions.
• Accreditation — An administrative procedure that gives organisations simplified access to Erasmus+ funding; it is the first stage of a two-stage process and does not itself award a grant.
• Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) — An accreditation by the European Commission that higher education institutions need to take part in Erasmus+ learning mobility and cooperation.
• Cooperation Partnership — A KA2 transnational project involving at least three organisations from three different EU Member States or associated third countries, funded with one of three pre-defined lump sums: EUR 120 000, 250 000 or 400 000.
• Small-scale Partnership — A KA2 project format for smaller organisations and newcomers with at least two organisations from two different countries, funded with a lump sum of EUR 30 000 or 60 000.
• Blended intensive programme (BIP) — A short higher-education programme combining a short physical mobility with a compulsory virtual component for collaborative online work; it must award at least 3 ECTS credits to students.
• People with fewer opportunities — People who face obstacles to effective access to the programme for economic, social, cultural, geographical, health or other reasons.
• Third countries associated / not associated to the Programme — Non-EU countries with a National Agency fully participating in Erasmus+ (associated), and countries without an association agreement, whose organisations can take part only in certain actions or in justified cases.

Sources: Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026, Version 1 (European Commission, 12 Nov 2025); Erasmus+ Programme Guide, Part D: Glossary of terms - Common terms (European Commission, online version of the 2026 Guide (accessed 19 Oct 2026)); Erasmus+ Programme Guide, Part D: Glossary of terms - Higher education (European Commission, online version of the 2026 Guide (accessed 19 Oct 2026))

• Zuwendung (grant) — A payment from the federal budget to a body outside the federal administration for a specific purpose; under § 23 BHO it may only be granted if the Federation has a substantial interest that cannot be met, or not sufficiently, without it.
• BHO / VV-BHO — The Bundeshaushaltsordnung (Federal Budget Code), whose §§ 23 and 44 are the legal basis for grants, and the general administrative regulations on it that set the detailed rules on application, approval and proof of use.
• Projektförderung (project funding) — A grant for a project that is limited in subject, time and budget, as opposed to institutionelle Förderung (institutional funding) of an organisation's overall operation; the project must not have started before approval.
• Zuwendungsbescheid (grant decision) — The administrative act by which the grant giver (Zuwendungsgeber) awards the grant to the recipient (Zuwendungsempfänger), fixing amount, purpose, period and the attached ancillary provisions.
• ANBest-P (general ancillary provisions for project funding) — Standard conditions in the sense of § 36 VwVfG that become part of every federal project grant decision unless excluded; they regulate drawing funds, procurement, reporting duties, proof of use and repayment.
• Finanzierungsart (type of financing) — The method fixed in the grant decision: Anteilfinanzierung (fixed share of eligible expenditure), Fehlbedarfsfinanzierung (covers the gap left after own and third-party funds), Festbetragsfinanzierung (fixed amount) or Vollfinanzierung (full funding, only by exception).
• Mittelabruf (drawing funds) — Funds may only be requested to the extent they are needed soon after payment for due expenses; under ANBest-P use within six weeks of payment counts as timely, otherwise interest may be charged.
• Verwendungsnachweis (proof of use) — The final report on how the grant was used, due within six months after the end of the project, consisting of a Sachbericht (narrative report) and a zahlenmäßiger Nachweis (financial statement).
• Zwischennachweis (interim proof of use) — An annual report on funds received in a budget year for projects running beyond that year, due within four months after the end of the year.
• Besserstellungsverbot (ban on better pay) — The rule that recipients financed predominantly by public grants must not pay their staff more than comparable federal employees; it is set in the annual Federal Budget Act and in the VV on § 44 BHO.

Sources: Bundeshaushaltsordnung (BHO), § 23 Zuwendungen (Bundesministerium der Justiz / Bundesamt für Justiz, gesetze-im-internet.de, current consolidated version (accessed 19 Oct 2026)); Bundeshaushaltsordnung (BHO), § 44 Zuwendungen, Verwaltung von Mitteln oder Vermögensgegenständen (Bundesministerium der Justiz / Bundesamt für Justiz, gesetze-im-internet.de, current consolidated version (accessed 19 Oct 2026)); Allgemeine Nebenbestimmungen für Zuwendungen zur Projektförderung (ANBest-P), Anlage 2 zur VV Nr. 5.1 zu § 44 BHO (Bundesministerium der Finanzen (copy hosted by bpb.de), applicable from 08 Sep 2026 (BMF circular of 07 Sep 2026)); Merkblatt zum Besserstellungsverbot, BMFTR form 0029 (Formularschrank des Bundes (foerderportal.bund.de), Stand 26 Jan 2026)

• Förderrichtlinie / Bekanntmachung (funding guideline / call notice) — The published call that sets aims, eligible applicants, funding conditions and procedure for a BMFTR funding line; guidelines are published in the Bundesanzeiger (Federal Gazette).
• Projektträger (project management agency) — An organisation commissioned by the ministry, such as DLR Projektträger or Projektträger Jülich, that advises applicants, receives sketches and applications, organises review and supervises funded projects.
• Projektskizze (project outline) — The short first-stage document in a two-stage procedure (zweistufiges Verfahren); only applicants with positively rated outlines are invited to submit a formal application (förmlicher Förderantrag).
• easy-Online — The federal electronic system for preparing and submitting project outlines and formal applications; submission is legally valid with a qualified electronic signature or the TAN procedure, otherwise a signed paper copy is required.
• AZA / AZAP / AZK — Application types: Zuwendung auf Ausgabenbasis (expenditure basis, for universities and non-profit bodies), the AZAP variant with project lump sum for universities, and Zuwendung auf Kostenbasis (cost basis, for commercial companies).
• Projektpauschale (project lump sum for overheads) — For research projects of universities and university hospitals, the BMFTR adds 20 % of the grant to cover indirect costs such as space, energy, IT and administration; no proof of its use is required.
• Verbundprojekt / Kooperationsvereinbarung (collaborative project / cooperation agreement) — A project carried out jointly by at least two partners, each receiving its own grant; partners must regulate their cooperation, in particular the use of results, in a written cooperation agreement.
• NABF / NAFTR 2026 and NKBF / NKFTR 2026 — Ministry-specific ancillary provisions for grants on expenditure basis and on cost basis; the Formularschrank lists the NAFTR 2026 and NKFTR 2026 (Stand March 2026) as successors, while the grant decision names the version that applies.
• AGVO (General Block Exemption Regulation, GBER) — EU Regulation 651/2014 on state aid, on which BMFTR guidelines base funding for companies and economic activities; it sets maximum aid intensities.

Sources: Richtlinien für Zuwendungsanträge auf Ausgabenbasis (AZA/AZAP/AZV), BMFTR form 0027a (Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (BMFTR), Formularschrank des Bundes, for projects starting from 19 Apr 2018 (current form, accessed 19 Oct 2026)); Richtlinie zur Förderung von Projekten zum Thema „Innovative Herstellung von E-Fuels und CCU-basierten Vorprodukten“ (example of a current BMFTR funding guideline) (Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (BMFTR), 10 Sep 2026, Bundesanzeiger 22 Sep 2026); Nebenbestimmungen für Zuwendungen auf Ausgabenbasis des BMFTR für Forschungs- und Entwicklungsvorhaben (NAFTR 2026), form 0321d (Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (BMFTR), Formularschrank des Bundes, Stand 23 Mar 2026)

• BMFTR — Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space), the federal research ministry formerly named BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung).
• NKS / NCP — Nationale Kontaktstelle (National Contact Point): an expert team set up by the federal government for one part of Horizon Europe that informs on calls, advises applicants in all phases, reviews draft proposals and helps find partners; counterparts exist in every Member State.
• EU-Büro des BMFTR (EUB) — The EU Office of the BMFTR, based at DLR Projektträger, which coordinates the German NCP network, runs the front office and hotline for first enquiries and hosts the NCPs for legal and financial issues and for the ERC.
• KoWi — Kooperationsstelle EU der Wissenschaftsorganisationen (European Liaison Office of the German Research Organisations), which offers information, advice and training on the EU research framework programme.
• Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) — A network named in the Horizon Europe Regulation as a support structure for small and medium-sized enterprises that may deliver support services under the programme, including for the EIC.
• DFG — Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation), which funds research projects of qualified researchers from all disciplines at German research institutions.
• Sachbeihilfe (DFG research grant) — The DFG grant for an individual research project with a defined topic and a duration set by the project's needs; applicants as a rule hold a doctorate, and first proposals may be submitted at any time.
• Eigene Stelle (temporary position for principal investigator) — A DFG module that lets the applicant request funding for their own position within the project.
• Programmpauschale (DFG programme allowance) — A flat-rate overhead paid on top of DFG project funds to cover indirect project costs; it is 22 % of direct project costs for grants approved since 2016; the Joint Science Conference (GWK) agreed to raise it to 25 % from 2027.

Sources: Netzwerk der Nationalen Kontaktstellen (BMFTR, Horizont Europa website (operated by DLR Projektträger), accessed 19 Oct 2026); EU-Büro des BMFTR (EUB) (BMFTR, Horizont Europa website, accessed 19 Oct 2026); KoWi - European Liaison Office of the German Research Organisations (home page) (KoWi, accessed 19 Oct 2026); Research Grants (Sachbeihilfe) (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), accessed 19 Oct 2026); DFG Overhead Allowance (Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (BMFTR), accessed 19 Oct 2026); DFG begrüßt GWK-Einigung zur Programmpauschale, Pressemitteilung Nr. 39 (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, 28 Nov 2025)

• PIC — Participant Identification Code: the 9-digit number identifying an organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal Participant Register.
• LEAR — Legal Entity Appointed Representative: the person formally nominated by an organisation to manage its data and assign roles in the Portal.
• LSIGN / PLSIGN / PFSIGN — Legal Signatory, Project Legal Signatory and Project Financial Signatory: Portal roles for signing grant agreements and amendments, and for signing financial statements, for an organisation or a specific project.
• RIA / IA / CSA — Research and Innovation Action, Innovation Action, Coordination and Support Action: the main Horizon Europe types of action, defined in Article 2 of Regulation 2021/695.
• EIT / JRC — European Institute of Innovation and Technology (which runs the Knowledge and Innovation Communities) and Joint Research Centre (the Commission's in-house science service); both are components of Horizon Europe.
• OLAF — European Anti-Fraud Office, which may carry out investigations on EU-funded projects in addition to checks by the granting authority and the European Court of Auditors.
• VwVfG — Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz (Administrative Procedure Act); the ANBest-P are ancillary provisions within the meaning of its § 36 and the grant decision is an administrative act under it.

Sources: EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Online Manual, V1.3 (European Commission, 01 May 2026); Regulation (EU) 2021/695 establishing Horizon Europe (Art. 2, 4, 16) (European Parliament and Council of the EU, EUR-Lex, 28 Apr 2021); EU Grants: AGA - Annotated Grant Agreement, V2.0 (European Commission, 01 Apr 2025 (PDF updated 19 Sep 2025)); Allgemeine Nebenbestimmungen für Zuwendungen zur Projektförderung (ANBest-P), Anlage 2 zur VV Nr. 5.1 zu § 44 BHO (Bundesministerium der Finanzen (copy hosted by bpb.de), applicable from 08 Sep 2026 (BMF circular of 07 Sep 2026))