Call 2023 – FAQ for Applicants

QuantERA ERA-NET Cofund in Quantum Technologies is a consortium of Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) supporting research and innovation in Quantum Technologies (QT) in Europe.

Through organisation of Calls for Proposals we support multilateral research projects with the potential to initiate or foster new lines of QT. The QuantERA Programme received two ERA-NET co-funds (QuantERA I project in 2016 and QuantERA II project in 2020) from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.

The countries participating in the Call for proposals are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada (Québec), Croatia (tbc), Czechia, Denmark (tbc), Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy (tbc), Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal (tbc), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.

The countries are represented by one or more funding organisations. The eligibility of a potential consortium partner depends on the funding rules of the respective funding organisation this partner is applying to.

Research Funding Organisation with a “tbc” annotation are considering joining the QuantERA Call 2023. The final decision will be communicated at a later stage. Please check the Call webpage regularly for updates on their participation, or contact these RFOs’ contact points.

Research Funding Organisation with a “tbc” annotation will confirm at a later stage their participation in the Call. Please check the Call webpage regularly for updates on their participation, or contact these RFOs’ contact points.

The Widening Countries participating in the call are: Bulgaria, Croatia (tbc), Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal (tbc), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey.

The Call Partner Search Tool allows searching potential partners by country.

Each project must comprise at least three eligible partners, based in an entity eligible to Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) participating in the QuantERA Call from at least three countries. Each partner can choose only one funding organisation when submitting a proposal.

The eligibility of national teams is subject to national/regional eligibility rules as stated in Call Announcement specified in Annex 1 . The composition of a project team should be determined by the research question and project design.

Standard consortium size is three to six partners.

A PC is a researcher responsible for managing an entire consortium and is a leader of a transnational team. A PC also acts as a single point of contact towards the QuantERA Call Secretariat.

A PC must be based at an institution eligible to the funding of Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) participating in this Call.

A PC may coordinate only one proposal.

A PI  is a partner of a project consortium and a leader of a national/regional team. Each PI should be based at an institution eligible for funding by a participating funding organisation. There may be more than one PI from one country[1], but there can only be one PI per university or research institution.

One of Project Investigators (PI) will act as a Project Coordinator. One PI cannot coordinate more than one proposal but can be involved in multiple projects.

[1] Please consult also national eligibility requirements.

QuantERA encourages excellent early career researchers to take responsibilities. Generally, PhD costs are eligible as well as post-doctoral costs. However, since the funding follows national/regional rules, the consortium partners need to check the specific eligible costs with their respective funding institution. See  Annex 1 of the Call Announcement.

It depends on the national/regional funding regulations. The section Funding: Overview of the Call Announcement list all the funding organisations allowing such partners to be funded.

The submitted proposals are expected to be aligned with one of the two QuantERA Call 2023 topics:

• Quantum Phenomena and Resources (QPR) – with the goal to lay the foundations for the QT of the future;
• Applied Quantum Science (AQS) – aimed at taking known quantum effects and established concepts from quantum science, translating them info technological applications and developing new products.

More details you can find in the section Targeted Research of the Call Announcement.

Proposals submitted under QPR and AQS topics are assessed separately by two Evaluation Panels (EP), being composed of scientific and industry experts in Quantum Technologies

A proposal can focus on a single target outcome or cover several of them.

All partners in a transnational research proposal should consult their eligibility and the eligibility of their requested budget items with their national funding organisations before submitting a proposal. You will find the contact details for the participating national funding organisations in the section Funding: Overview of the Call Announcement.

The Project Coordinator (PC) prepares a joint proposal for the whole consortium, using the templates available on the QuantERA website. The two forms (proposal form and financial form) composing the proposal are submitted via the Electronic Submission System (ESS)  for QPR and for AQS. The system will be open for applications in early February. Please check the Call webpage regularly for updates.

The budget available is set at ca. € 33 million.

There is no cap on an individual transnational project. However, you should check whether there are national/regional limits on amount you can apply for. More details you can find in the section Funding: Overview of the Call Announcement.

You should use Euros.

All costs must be eligible according to the national or regional eligibility rules specified in Annex 1 of the Call Announcement. Each research team may request funding for personnel costs, consumables, travel costs, equipment and subcontracting in accordance with these national or regional rules. In case of doubt, applicants should consult their respective Research Funding Organisations (RFOs).

Proposals are evaluated based on the European Commission’s criteria of Excellence, Impact, and Quality and efficiency of the implementation.

While the “Quality” threshold is the same for each criterion and each topic, the weights of the other two criteria differ between the Quantum Phenomena and Resources (QPR) and the Applied Quantum Science (AQS) topics:

• Excellence (weight in QPR: 50%; weight in AQS: 25%)
• Impact (weight in QPR: 25%; weight in AQS: 50%)

Based on the ranking lists provided by the Evaluation Panels, the funding organisations will establish the final list of projects recommended for funding.

All applications must be in English.

Proposals are typically between 25 and 35 pages (documents exceeding 35 pages will not be uploadable on the Electronic Submission System). Detailed instructions are provided in the QuantERA Proposal Template document regarding the expected length within each section.

Projects can last from 24 up to 36 months. The earliest starting date for successful projects is January 2024. All national research teams within a given project will be expected to start their projects at the same time.