Horizon Academy project | NCP Portal Management

The Horizon Europe NCP Portal is supported by the Horizon Academy (NCP4HE), a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) funded by the European Commission and formed by a consortium of 36 partners in 29 countries.

The rationale behind this project is to achieve a more unified NCP system in all countries participating in Horizon Europe. There are hundreds of NCPs spread across Member States and Associated Countries, and even though in many cases they are organised through their thematic networks, there is a need to strengthen their capacities and giving them the opportunities to learn from each other. A stronger Horizon Europe NCP ecosystem will in turn lead to a better and more professionalized service offered to participants and beneficiaries, leading finally to higher quality proposals from across the whole EU.

The project started in April 2023 and has a duration of 60 months. Its activities are grouped into the following Work Packages:

WP1. Training coordination and implementation
WP2. Legal & Financial NCP Community Building
WP3. Good practices and quality standards for National NCP systems
WP4. Building bridges among NCP thematic networks to multiply their value
WP5. The Horizon Europe NCP Portal: increasing services and scope
WP6. Preparing the transition to the next Framework Programme
WP7-9. Project coordination and communication

Horizon Academy logo

This WP structure leads to three main courses of action. First, it provides a wide range of training opportunities for NCPs (WP1). Second, it brings together the thematic networks of NCPs National Coordinators, and Legal & Financial NCPs (WP2 and WP3). Third, it gives transversal support to all NCP Thematic Networks, especially newcomers, with the aim to strengthen and professionalize the NCP ecosystems across Member States and Associated Countries, by implementing a large series of activities both from a methodological (WP4) and a technical (WP5) perspective.

All these core themes will funnel, starting in 2026, into WP6, focused on the preparation of the NCP ecosystem for FP10, constituting a second part of the project. All the project activities are developed with a strong dissemination and communication component mainly targeted to NCPs, with a strong focus on newcomers. Most of the project results are made available to the general public, either via the European Commission portal, or the Horizon Europe NCP Portal, which has the largest growing collection of training sessions, e-learning courses (through the NCP Virtual Campus), events, guidelines and other tools about the Horizon Europe Framework Programme.

The Horizon Academy consortium is composed of 36 partners from 22 Member States and 9 Associated Countries. More than 120 public officers in Europe and beyond are currently involved in the project, which meet regularly on a variable geometry basis to discuss content, exchange best practices, and create synergies.

Horinzon Academy kick-off meeting. Athens, 2023.

Horizon Academy kick-off meeting. April 2023, Athens.

Horizon Academy logo logic

Take a look to some of the latest results of the Horizon Academy Project

Analysis of Evaluation Summary Reports (ESR):

https://horizoneuropencpportal.eu/store/analysis-evaluation-summary-reports-key-criteria-across-calls