Research and Innovation Action (RIA)

A Research and Innovation Action (RIA) is the most common and foundational grant type under Horizon Europe, funding activities that establish new knowledge, explore the feasibility of new or improved technologies, products, processes, or services, and advance the state of the art across all scientific and technological disciplines. Defined by Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, RIAs cover Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 2-6 — from basic technology research through to technology demonstrated in a relevant environment — and are funded at 100% of eligible costs for all beneficiaries, regardless of whether they are academic institutions, research centers, companies, or public bodies.

How It Works

RIAs are the workhorses of Horizon Europe's collaborative research. They fund consortia of research-performing organizations to push the boundaries of knowledge and technology, producing scientific publications, datasets, prototypes, patents, and trained researchers as their primary outputs.

A typical RIA follows this lifecycle:

1. Call topic publication. The European Commission publishes a biennial work programme containing hundreds of call topics organized under six thematic clusters (Pillar II), three Pillar I components (ERC, MSCA, Research Infrastructures), and Pillar III instruments. Each RIA topic defines the scope (what the research should address), expected outcomes (what results should be produced), and the available budget. Topics are identified by codes such as HORIZON-CL4-2025-DIGITAL-01 (Cluster 4, Digital, 2025 call, Topic 01).

2. Consortium formation. The minimum consortium size for a RIA is three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or Associated Countries. In practice, RIA consortia typically comprise 8-15 partners, including universities, research centers, industrial partners (for technology development and validation), SMEs (for commercialization potential), and public bodies or NGOs (for societal impact). The consortium designates a coordinator who manages the proposal preparation and, if funded, the project administration.

3. Proposal preparation and submission. The consortium prepares a proposal following the Horizon Europe template, structured around the three evaluation criteria:

• Part B1: Excellence (scientific quality, objectives, methodology)
• Part B2: Impact (expected outcomes, dissemination and exploitation plan)
• Part B3: Implementation (work packages, deliverables, milestones, consortium management, budget)

RIA proposals are limited to 40 pages (or 45 for lump sum topics). Proposals are submitted through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal before the call deadline.

4. Evaluation. Independent expert evaluators assess each proposal against the three criteria, each scored 0-5 with a threshold of 3.0 per criterion and 10.0 overall. For RIAs, all three criteria are weighted equally (unlike Innovation Actions, where Impact receives 1.5x weight). Proposals above all thresholds are ranked by total score, with ties broken by Impact score, then Excellence, then Implementation.

5. Grant agreement and implementation. Successful proposals enter grant agreement preparation. The grant agreement is signed between the European Commission and the consortium coordinator (on behalf of all partners). RIA projects typically run for 36-48 months, structured into work packages with specific tasks, deliverables, and milestones. The project reports progress at 18-month intervals through periodic reports assessed by a project officer.

Key characteristics of RIAs:

The 100% funding rate is the defining financial characteristic of RIAs. Unlike IAs where for-profit entities receive only 70%, all participants in a RIA receive 100% reimbursement of their eligible direct costs plus the 25% indirect cost flat rate. This reflects the pre-competitive nature of RIA research: the results are further from market and provide public-good benefits (knowledge, training, capability building) rather than direct commercial advantage.

Legal Framework

Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695 defines Research and Innovation Actions as activities "primarily consisting of activities aiming to establish new knowledge and/or to explore the feasibility of a new or improved technology, product, process, service or solution. This may include basic and applied research, technology development and integration, testing and validation on a small-scale prototype in a laboratory or simulated environment."

Article 18(1) establishes the 100% funding rate for RIAs: "For research and innovation actions the funding rate shall be fixed at 100% of the eligible costs."

Article 24 specifies the minimum participation conditions: at least three independent legal entities from at least three different Member States or Associated Countries. Exceptions exist for certain topics (e.g., ERC grants and MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships are individual grants with different participation rules).

Article 29 governs the evaluation of proposals, requiring independent expert evaluation against the criteria of Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation. The specific evaluation methodology for RIAs is detailed in the General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme.

The Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement (HE MGA) contains the detailed financial and operational rules for RIA grants, including eligible cost categories (personnel, travel, equipment, subcontracting, other direct costs), reporting obligations, intellectual property rules (Articles 16-17: beneficiaries own foreground IP; they must grant access rights to other beneficiaries for implementation and exploitation), and open science requirements (immediate open access for publications, FAIR data management).

The open science requirements are particularly significant for RIAs. All peer-reviewed publications resulting from Horizon Europe RIAs must be made available through immediate open access (no embargo period). Research data must follow FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and, as far as possible, be deposited in open repositories. A Data Management Plan is a mandatory deliverable for all RIA projects.

Practical Examples

Example 1: Materials Science RIA. A consortium of 10 partners (three universities, two national research centers, three industrial research labs, and two SMEs) from seven countries receives EUR 5.2 million for a 48-month RIA on bio-based composite materials. The project conducts fundamental research on natural fiber reinforcement mechanisms (TRL 2-3), develops new manufacturing processes (TRL 4), and validates material performance in laboratory conditions (TRL 5). Outputs include 25 peer-reviewed publications, three patent applications, a comprehensive open-access materials database, and five PhD students trained through the project.

Example 2: Digital Health RIA. A Cluster 1 (Health) RIA brings together six hospitals, three universities, two AI companies, and one patient advocacy organization to develop federated learning algorithms for rare disease diagnosis. Budget: EUR 7.8 million over 42 months. The universities provide algorithmic expertise, the hospitals provide clinical data (under strict GDPR compliance), the AI companies develop the software platform, and the patient organization ensures ethical oversight and patient engagement. All partners receive 100% funding. The project produces a validated diagnostic tool demonstrated in a simulated clinical environment (TRL 6).

Example 3: Social Sciences RIA. A Cluster 2 (Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society) RIA investigates the impact of digital misinformation on democratic processes across 12 EU countries. The consortium includes eight universities, two media organizations, and one public policy institute. Budget: EUR 3.5 million over 36 months. The project combines large-scale survey research, computational analysis of social media data, and participatory citizen science methods. Outputs include open datasets, policy recommendations, and educational materials.

Key Considerations for Suppliers

RIAs are your gateway to European research partnerships. Even if your primary business is commercial products or services, participating in a RIA positions you at the frontier of your technology area, gives you access to leading research groups, and builds the knowledge base for future innovations. The 100% funding rate means participation involves no financial loss — all eligible costs are reimbursed.

Demonstrate genuine research content. RIA proposals must contain substantial research activities. Proposals that are essentially deployment or demonstration projects dressed up as research will score poorly on the Excellence criterion. Clearly articulate the research questions, the novelty of your approach, the contribution to the state of the art, and the methodology for generating new knowledge. If your activities are primarily demonstration and deployment, an IA may be more appropriate.

Balance the consortium carefully. Successful RIA consortia combine academic depth (universities and research centers that bring scientific expertise and publication capacity), industrial relevance (companies that bring application knowledge and potential for exploitation), and geographic diversity (partners from multiple countries, including widening countries if possible). Avoid consortia that are too large (>15 partners creates management overhead) or too small (may lack critical mass for the proposed research).

Plan your exploitation strategy early. Even though RIAs are pre-competitive, evaluators expect a clear plan for how the research results will lead to eventual impact. This includes: dissemination of knowledge (publications, conferences, workshops), exploitation of results (patents, licensing, spin-offs, standards contributions), and societal impact (policy recommendations, public engagement, capacity building). A RIA that generates excellent science but has no plan for utilizing the results will score poorly on Impact.

Leverage the open science requirements. Rather than treating open access and FAIR data as compliance burdens, use them to maximize your project's visibility and impact. Publishing in open access journals increases citation rates. Sharing datasets in open repositories increases reuse and collaboration opportunities. Open science practices increasingly influence evaluation panels, who look for genuine commitment rather than box-ticking compliance.

Related Concepts

• Grant — The funding mechanism under which RIAs are awarded.
• Horizon Europe — The EU's R&I programme within which RIAs are the most common grant type.
• Innovation Action (IA) — The complementary grant type for later-stage innovation (TRL 5-8), funded at 70% for for-profit entities.
• Coordination and Support Action (CSA) — A grant type for coordination and networking, not involving research or innovation activities.
• Funding Rate — 100% for all RIA beneficiaries, the highest standard rate in Horizon Europe.
• Evaluation Criteria — Excellence, Impact, and Implementation, equally weighted for RIAs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the typical success rate for RIA proposals?

Success rates for Horizon Europe RIAs typically range from 12-20% of eligible proposals, depending on the specific call topic and available budget. Some highly oversubscribed topics (particularly in Health and Digital clusters) may have success rates below 10%, while less competitive topics may approach 25%. The overall Horizon Europe average is approximately 15-17%. Given these odds, applicants should carefully assess their competitiveness before investing the significant effort (typically 3-6 person-months for a coordinator) required to prepare a strong RIA proposal.

Can a single organization submit a RIA proposal?

In general, no. The standard minimum consortium size for a RIA is three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or Associated Countries. However, there are exceptions: some specific topic conditions may allow smaller consortia if the nature of the research justifies it, and certain instruments under Pillar I (such as ERC grants) are individual grants that do not require a consortium. But for the vast majority of Pillar II collaborative research topics, which represent the bulk of RIA funding, the three-partner minimum applies.

What happens to the intellectual property generated by a RIA?

Under Articles 16-17 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement, each beneficiary owns the foreground IP (results) it generates. If results are jointly generated and it is not possible to determine each beneficiary's contribution, the results are jointly owned. Beneficiaries must grant access rights to other consortium members: free of charge for project implementation, and on fair and reasonable conditions (which may be royalty-free) for exploitation. Beneficiaries must protect results that are capable of industrial or commercial application and must make best efforts to exploit them (directly or through licensing). The IP provisions aim to balance the public investment in research (through 100% funding) with the incentive for commercial exploitation.