A call for proposals is a package of topics with a shared deadline and budget, published by the European Commission on the portal. You apply not to the call but to a specific topic within it: the topic sets the type of action, the funding rate, the consortium requirements and the expected outcomes.
The hierarchy has three levels, and confusing them costs time. The work programme is adopted by Commission decision and split into thematic parts. Inside it are calls with a common deadline and budget. Inside calls are topics.
A topic identifier is the call identifier plus a destination code and a number – so a long code tells you which call it belongs to.
Read the topic
The topic determines everything that matters: expected outcomes, scope, budget per project, consortium requirements, deadline and – above all – the type of action.
The type of action sets the funding rate: research, coordination and training actions at 100%; innovation actions at 70% (non-profit entities up to 100%); public procurement of innovative solutions at 50%; programme co-fund actions between 30% and 70%.
Two topics in the same call can carry different types of action, and therefore different rates and rules. Decisions are made by reading the topic, not the programme description.
Three submission formats
Single-stage – a full proposal by the deadline. The most common.
Two-stage – a 10-page outline, and a full proposal only on invitation.
Continuously open with cut-offs – submit any time; everything received by a given cut-off is evaluated together.
A topic budget is not fixed
Rarely mentioned but written into the rules: final figures may differ from those in the work programme by up to 20%. So "topic budget €10m" is a guide, not a guarantee.
The priority rule
The General Annexes set the baseline, but a topic may derogate from them. Where a topic has its own or additional conditions, this is stated explicitly in its specific conditions – and those prevail. This applies to evaluation thresholds and weightings too.
Current dates and documentation always live on the topic page of the portal: the work programme is a decision, the portal is the current state.
Updated 27.07.2026 · Reviewed by: GetGrant editorial team
