Brighter horizons

UK participation in the EU’s R&I programme is warming up

There are finally signs that spring is on the way for the UK’s participation in Horizon Europe, after the country’s protracted freeze-out from the EU’s flagship R&I programme.

As Research Professional News revealed this month, applications from UK-based researchers to two schemes run by the European Research Council, which sits within the €93 billion (£80bn) Horizon programme, have rebounded close to 2022 levels. The boosts in responses to calls for early and mid-career researchers come after a slump last year, when researchers were understandably losing patience with a holding position that left them eligible to apply but not to receive funding.