Why EU Funding Matters for Pain Research
Pain affects hundreds of millions of people across Europe and remains a major public health challenge. Chronic pain alone is estimated to affect around one in five adults, with major impacts on quality of life, employment, and healthcare systems.
Addressing these challenges requires coordinated research efforts that bring together expertise across disciplines and countries. EU funding programmes are specifically designed to support this type of collaboration.
EU-funded projects typically bring together:
- Universities and research institutes
- Hospitals and clinical centres
- Patient organisations
- Industry and technology developers
- Scientific societies and networks
These collaborations enable access to shared infrastructure, large datasets, and multinational patient cohorts. For pain researchers, participation offers collaboration with leading groups across Europe, access to substantial multi-year funding, increased visibility and impact, and stronger links between research, clinical practice, and policy.
The European Union is the largest funder of research projects in Europe, and it is therefore essential that early-career researchers in Europe become familiar with how EU research funding functions. EFIC works with EU policymakers to encourage those designing funding programmes like Horizon Europe to consider pain-related funding calls. Find out more about that work on our Pain Research Strategy page.
Collaborating with EFIC in EU Research Projects
The European Pain Federation EFIC connects national pain societies and thousands of clinicians and researchers across Europe, supporting collaboration across the multidisciplinary pain research community.
Through its established communication channels and professional networks, EFIC can help research consortia:
- Communicate research findings to clinicians and researchers across Europe
- Support educational initiatives such as webinars and scientific events
- Engage stakeholders including healthcare professionals, policymakers, and patient organisations
- Connect research outcomes with clinical practice and real-world healthcare challenges
EFIC supports research projects by promoting project updates, sharing results with its network of more than 20,000 professionals, and connecting consortia with expert communities such as the Pain Scientist Network.
If you are interested in collaborating with EFIC as part of an EU research project, we would be glad to hear from you.
Learn about collaboration opportunitiesWhat Are the Main EU Research Funding Programmes?
EU research funding can be broadly understood across three categories. Understanding this distinction helps researchers identify which programmes best match their career stage and goals.
e.g. Horizon Europe - multinational consortia addressing major research challenges
e.g. European Research Council - funding for independent, investigator-driven research
e.g. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, COST - mobility and collaboration-building
Horizon Europe
Horizon Europe is the EU's flagship research and innovation programme (2021-2027), with a total budget of approximately €95 billion - making it one of the largest coordinated public research funding programmes globally. It supports research across thematic "clusters," with Cluster 1: Health being most relevant to pain research.
Funded topics include disease prevention and management, health systems and care delivery, digital health, personalised medicine, and ageing and population health. Horizon Europe primarily funds collaborative projects involving international consortia.
Horizon Europe is the main entry point for large-scale pain research projects, particularly in areas such as chronic disease, brain health, rehabilitation, and digital health. It supports multidisciplinary consortia capable of addressing the complex biological, psychological, and social dimensions of pain.
EFIC is actively contributing to this landscape through initiatives such as PRiSE (Pain Research Strategy for Europe), an ERA-NET NEURON-funded project led by an EFIC Presidential Task Force that aims to define and strengthen the strategic positioning of pain within European research priorities.
European Research Council (ERC)
The European Research Council funds investigator-driven frontier research and supports individual researchers and their teams. Grant types include Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, and Advanced Grants.
ERC funding is particularly relevant for pain researchers with bold, original ideas that cut across disciplines and have the potential to change how pain is understood or treated. This may include mechanistic research, but also translational and clinical studies - such as developing new interventions, exploring links between social disadvantage and pain biology, or testing innovative treatment approaches in clinical trials.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions support training, mobility, and career development. Schemes include Doctoral Networks, Postdoctoral Fellowships, and Staff Exchanges. Many universities, hospitals, and research institutes across Europe participate in MSCA programmes, making them a key entry point for early-career pain researchers to join international collaborations.
MSCA programmes provide one of the most accessible pathways for early-career researchers to enter European pain research, build interdisciplinary expertise, and develop international networks that often lead to participation in larger collaborative projects.
EFIC is involved in MSCA-funded Doctoral Networks such as HaPpY, which explores the interaction between chronic pain and mood disorders, and FRESCO4NoPain, which focuses on building interdisciplinary research capacity in pain through international training and collaboration.
EU4Health Programme
The EU4Health programme focuses on strengthening health systems, improving access to care, and supporting public health initiatives.
EU4Health is particularly relevant for improving how pain is managed within healthcare systems, including access to care, treatment pathways, and implementation of best practices.
EFIC has contributed to this area through INTERACT-Europe, a European collaboration focused on improving interdisciplinary cancer care. Within this project, EFIC plays a key role in ensuring that pain assessment and management are integrated across care pathways.
Additional European Collaboration and Funding Mechanisms
European Research Area Networks (ERA-NETs)
ERA-NETs coordinate national funding agencies to launch joint transnational calls, enabling international collaboration even when funding comes from national sources.
European Partnerships and Joint Initiatives
These bring together the European Commission, national funders, and industry to coordinate research in strategic areas such as brain health and personalised medicine.
These mechanisms often fund more targeted calls than Horizon Europe and can provide accessible entry points into international collaboration. They also play an important role in building networks that can evolve into larger EU-funded consortia.
EFIC leads the PRiSE initiative (funded through ERA-NET NEURON) and is a partner in ITPain, which harmonises protocols and data collection in chronic pain research, and IN-ChildPain, which focuses on improving coordination and outcome measures in paediatric pain research.
Innovative Health Initiative (IHI)
The Innovative Health Initiative is a public-private partnership supporting large-scale collaborative research involving academia, healthcare, and industry.
IHI is particularly relevant for translating research into clinical applications, including development of new treatments, biomarkers, and technologies for pain. It provides opportunities to collaborate with industry and accelerate real-world impact.
A relevant example from the predecessor programme (IMI) is IMI-PainCare, which aimed to improve the understanding and treatment of acute and chronic pain through biomarker development, clinical trials, and improved outcome measures. EFIC was a partner, leading communication and dissemination activities.
Erasmus+
Erasmus+ supports education, training, and capacity building across Europe.
Erasmus+ supports the development of interdisciplinary education and training in pain, helping improve clinical skills, knowledge translation, and collaboration across Europe.
EFIC has been actively involved in several Erasmus+ projects including DIGI4MSK (musculoskeletal pain education through digital health literacy), ECHOO, and PANACEA, which address the translation of placebo and nocebo research into clinical practice and education.
COST Actions
COST Actions fund research networks rather than research projects, providing an accessible way to build international collaborations, develop ideas, and prepare future funding proposals - especially for early-career researchers. EFIC members are actively involved in COST Actions related to pain and neuroscience.
EIT Health
EIT Health supports healthcare innovation through collaboration between academia, industry, and healthcare providers. It is particularly relevant for developing innovative solutions such as digital tools, medical technologies, and new models of care for pain management. Previous EIT Health calls have included pain-related challenges.
How Do EU Research Consortia Work?
Most EU research projects are conducted by international consortia consisting of multiple organisations from different countries. A typical consortium may include:
- Universities and academic research centres
- Hospitals and clinical research units
- Technology developers or industry partners
- Patient organisations
- Scientific societies and research networks
One organisation acts as the project coordinator, responsible for overall project management and communication with the European Commission. Successful consortia often combine strong scientific expertise, clinical environments, technological capabilities, and effective dissemination.
Consortia are typically formed months before application deadlines and are often built through existing networks, collaborations, and brokerage events rather than open recruitment.
How Does the EU Grant Application Process Work?
Applying for EU research funding involves several structured steps. The process begins with the publication of research calls through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal.
- Publication of work programmes
- Topic selection
- Consortium building
- Proposal writing
- Proposal submission
- Evaluation by independent experts
- Grant agreement preparation
- Project implementation
Evaluation criteria typically include scientific excellence, expected impact, and quality of implementation.
How Can Researchers Find EU Funding Opportunities?
The main entry point is the EU Funding and Tenders Portal. Researchers can also benefit from curated information shared through networks such as European Pain Federation EFIC (europeanpainfederation.eu), which regularly highlights relevant funding calls and opportunities through its website and news channels.
National Contact Points and institutional research offices can also provide valuable support, particularly for first-time applicants. You can find your National Contact Point via the European Commission website.
Tips and Pitfalls for Early-Career Pain Researchers
Early-career researchers are actively involved in many EU projects. EFIC is also exploring additional initiatives to support early-career researchers through programmes such as Rising Stars.
Getting started
- Join research networks. Building connections with established groups is often the single most important step. EFIC's Pain Scientist Network is a good starting point.
- Explore MSCA and COST opportunities. These are specifically designed for early-career development and offer more accessible entry points than large collaborative grants.
- Engage with existing projects. Reach out to ongoing consortia - scientific societies, including EFIC, can help connect early-career researchers with active projects.
- Attend brokerage events. These are organised around major funding calls and are where many consortia are formed. The EU Funding and Tenders Portal lists upcoming events.
- Contribute to proposals. Gaining experience as a contributor - even in a supporting role - builds familiarity with the process and strengthens future applications.
- Align with EU priorities. Calls are tied to specific thematic priorities; framing your work in relation to these significantly improves competitiveness.
Common pitfalls
- Late consortium building. Waiting until a call is published to start assembling a consortium is almost always too late. Strong partnerships take time to develop.
- Weak alignment with call topics. Proposals that do not clearly address the specific objectives of the call topic rarely score well, regardless of scientific quality.
- Overly ambitious proposals. Promising more than is realistically deliverable within the project timeline and budget raises credibility concerns during evaluation.
- Insufficient focus on impact. EU funding criteria place significant weight on how research will make a difference beyond academia. Impact plans need to be concrete and well-evidenced.
- Limited stakeholder involvement. Projects that engage only academic partners, without patient organisations, clinical networks, or policymakers, often miss important evaluation criteria.