According to the European Commission’s own interim evaluation of Horizon Europe, only the top 16% of applications are successful, and nearly 7 out of 10 high-quality proposals are rejected purely for lack of budget, not lack of merit.

That means strong science alone isn’t enough to win a bid. Increasingly, it’s the strength and credibility of the consortium, roles, balance, and delivery capacity, that separates funded proposals from excellent-but-rejected ones.

With the 2027 Horizon Europe call cycle approaching, this session gives you a practical head start: defining the roles your proposal needs, avoiding the consortium-building mistakes that quietly cost points at evaluation stage, and building a partner strategy before the search begins, not during it.

Crowdhelix will also introduce the matchmaking toolkit available to support your partner search.

This session is your ideal starting point ahead of Crowdhelix’s Cluster 5 (19-20 October) and Cluster 4 (9-10 November) matchmaking events, giving you a head start on consortium strategy before meeting potential partners face to face.


Key takeaways:

• How to define partner roles (coordinator, work package leads, dissemination, exploitation) before starting your partner search
• Common consortium-building mistakes that weaken proposals at evaluation stage, even when the science scores “excellent”, and how to avoid them
• Strategies for balancing expertise, geography, and TRL across a competitive partner mix
• Expert perspectives on what makes a consortium convincing to evaluators
• A walkthrough of the Crowdhelix matchmaking toolkit for identifying and approaching potential partners
• How to use this session to prepare effectively for the upcoming Cluster 5 and Cluster 4 matchmaking events

• Project coordinators and researchers preparing Horizon Europe proposals for Cluster 1,4 and 5 2027 calls
• Consortium managers, R&I support staff at universities and research organisations
• Anyone planning to attend our Cluster 5 (19-20 October) or Cluster 4 (9-10 November) matchmaking events who wants to arrive prepared with a clear partner strategy

If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact us at [email protected]