Club Orizont & EU Funding

Club Orizont is a service offered by CCG that aims to support partner universities who are keen to improve their success in accessing EU (and other) funded projects. Assisted by EU funding experts in the grant writing field, the members of Club Orizont receive support in the process of identifying relevant opportunities, developing and submitting their applications in a more comprehensive, innovative, and effective way.

About

Membership

Any university and research institute that want to enhance the level of funds attracted can become a member of Club Orizont. The membership is based on an institutional level, but different members of the institution can participate to the Club Orizont activities. Based on the responsibilities held by the team members there will be several opportunities for them to enhance their level of expertise and to take part in the networking activities where all the members will be engaged.

Advantages

The advantages of being part of Club Orizont:

  • Weekly newsletter highlighting relevant calls and focusing on different EU and other funding options.

  • Access to an experienced team of experts who can support across the key areas of EU funding.

  • Access to high-quality, live, interactive training courses, aimed at different levels of experience.

  • Support the development of relevant skills of staff.

  • Creates a platform that allows universities and faculties to meet peers from other universities that are interested in submitting European funded projects.

  • Mechanism for Sharing of technical and laboratory resources.

Benefits

The benefits of being part of Club Orizont:

  • Grow research in terms of productivity, internationalisation, citation impact and ability to attract funding.

  • Grow the visibility of the instruction.

  • Increase income generation.

  • Support the development of relevant skills of staff.

  • Develop the portfolio and scale of international partnerships.

  • Improve the institutions capacity to attract new EU funding.

  • Attracting new researchers and students.

Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries of university membership include:

  1. International office staff and research support officers can take part in Club Orizont activities and training, enabling them to gain a greater understanding and more experience of EU funding and how it works.

  2. Researchers can learn how to develop more comprehensive, innovative sustainable and effective applications.

  3. Early career researchers can receive high quality initial and ongoing training on how to find partners and build project proposals and applications.  This will improve their ability to achieve funding for their projects and support their senior researcher colleagues.

  4. Faculty Heads, Deans and Rectors will benefit from the knowledge sharing, decision making and consortia building, as well as the increased funding attracted to the faculty or institution.

Ukraine Team

Club Orizont Team

For more information about CCG’s Club Orizont Team consisting of Roger Horam, Elena Bozdog and Maryna Bilonozhko, please visit the Core Team Information Page

Our Services

  • Club Membership

    Target audience: This service is addressed to all universities that would like to develop knowledge, skills and capacity in the field of grant writing and implementation.

    Description of the service:

    In the highly competitive arena of EU funding, formulating a research idea marks merely the initial phase of crafting a winning application. Proposal writers must adeptly navigate the complex landscape of funding agencies, programmes, and application formats. Equally critical is the ability to strategically tailor each application to align seamlessly with the objectives and criteria set by the funding agency.

    Recognising these challenges, Cormack Consultancy Group initiated Club Orizont, a dedicated initiative designed to empower universities seeking to successfully access EU-funded projects and research funding.

    The following activities are included in the Club Orizont service:

    Workshop programme delivered twice a month over 6 months (we are currently delivering the 5th series of this training programme) - the training schedule can be accessed here;

    Masterclasses on different topics of interest for our Club Orizont members;

    Support in building consortia when working on funding applications;

    Weekly newsletter with funding opportunities;

    Individualised support when needed.

    CCG team of experts can offer extended support with additional services like project writing or review, and application package development.

  • EU Strategic Funding

    Target audience: This service is dedicated to universities outside the EU member states, that would like to be more active in the EU funding landscape.

    Description of the service:

    Because the EU aims to leverage the best experience and knowledge worldwide, non-EU universities can participate in many of its funding schemes. The forefront of cutting-edge research and innovation lies the power of international cooperation, and the European Union champions this principle through its Global Approach to Research and Innovation Communication, outlining a strategic framework for global engagement.

    At Cormack Consultancy Group, we understand the challenges that non-EU universities may have in participating in EU-funded projects, such as unfamiliarity with the available funding schemes, difficulty navigating the application process and finding and developing the right partnerships; that's why we're committed to offering solid support every step of the way.

    CCG offers tailored support for non-EU universities in navigating the intricacies of EU funding schemes. Our Club Orizont team helps non-EU universities identify and apply for EU funding opportunities from project idea generation, project consortium building and participation in capacity building and skills development initiatives.

    Our Central and Eastern Europe (CEE+) team specialises in identifying devolved funding projects, keeping an eye on opportunities in sustainability, higher education, business capacity building, digital transformation, and beyond. Subject to funding availability, we offer support to apply for these opportunities.

    Club Orizont membership is included in this service, which means access to the workshop series, masterclasses, and consortium building support are included.

  • Horizon Europe Support

    Target Audience: This service is dedicated to UK universities that would like to create the capacity to maximise the opportunities of Horizon Europe projects.

    Description of the service:

    Cormack Consultancy Group acknowledges the transformational potential of the Horizon Europe programme into the universities` research and innovation journey. With the UK Association agreement to the Horizon Europe, UK universities gain full access to the funding opportunities in this programme, which is the world`s biggest Research and Innovation (R&I) funding platform, boasting an impressive budget of over £81 billion for the 2021-2027 period.

    At Cormack Consultancy Group, we understand the challenges that UK universities may have encountered in re-engaging with such initiatives in recent times. That's why we're committed to offering ongoing support every step of the way. Our tailored support service is designed to assist UK universities in navigating the intricacies of Horizon Europe funding schemes. Our Club Orizont team helps EU universities identify and apply for Horizon Europe funding opportunities from research idea generation, project consortium building and participate in capacity building and skills development initiatives. Alongside bespoke training on Horizon Europe, CCG experts additionally deliver in-depth Horizon Europe workshops to further support university researchers (early career researchers, mid-career researchers and/or research office staff) depending on the need.

    Our Central and Eastern Europe (CEE+) team specialises in identifying devolved funding projects, keeping an eye on opportunities in sustainability, higher education, business capacity building, digital transformation, and beyond. Subject to funding availability, we offer support to apply for these opportunities.

    Club Orizont membership is included in this service, which means access to the workshop series, masterclasses, and consortium building support are included

  • Bespoke Training

    Target Audience: This service is dedicated to Lithuanian, Latvian, Indian researches as well as all universities interested in Club Orizont training

    Description of the service:

    CCG has been delivering numerous tailored trainings for different stakeholders, each finely tuned to address specific facets of the grant writing and implementation processes. CCG experts are flexible to customise the content of the course to respond to the unique requirements of the audience, and build the content of the course after thorough consultation with the target groups. Below is a list of recent training programmes delivered by CCG:

    Training for Lithuanian researchers and Horizon Europe National Contact Points (NCPs) – 2 sessions of 2 hours;

    Training for Latvian researchers and Horizon Europe National Contact Points (NCPs) – 2 sessions of 2 hours;

    Training for Ukrainian researchers – 4 sessions of 2 hours + individual meetings (4 series delivered up to this date);

    Training for Indian researchers – 1 session of 1.5 hours (2 series delivered up to this date);

    Club Orizont training programme – 6-month programme consisting of 12 meetings of 2 hours + networking sessions included (5 series delivered)

Testimonials

  • Professor Nik Bessis, Faculty of Arts and Science.

    I have been participating in the Club Orizont Club for nearly a year now. The experience has been very positive. I would say that the key advantages are the openness between members, the willingness to adapt, deliver bespoke services and improve as the programme progresses. The variety of sessions and participants prove a useful mix to suit individual needs.

  • Daniel Nemec, Moravian Business College Olomouc

    Membership in Club Orizont workshops allows its members to be more familiar with how grant managements works, how to be the most successful in applying for a project grant, and dealing with finances. On the other hand it is a unique way to meet people from abroad in similar situations, furthermore opens up a potential university partnerships and worldwide internationalization.

  • Vit Paszto, Moravian Business College Olomouc

    Being a member of the Club brings us a unique opportunity to get more familiar with various funding schemes in Europe and worldwide. It is also a great chance for us to meet colleagues from different universities and contexts whilst sharing the same passion for international collaboration.

  • Ovidiu Folcut, Romanian-American University

    Club Horizon it is one of the most interesting initiatives of CCG. For Romanian-American University it was (and is) a great opportunity to find new partners, to explore new areas of interest, to be part of different workshops, to learn from partner’s experience or to share our own experience in different topics. On the other hand, our experience with CCG representatives it was a very nice one: proactive people, very supportive, professional approach.

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