LookFundings · Practical funding guide
EU, national or cascade funding: where should your startup look?
Start with the project you need to finance, not the largest advertised grant. Direct EU calls, national programmes and cascade calls have different organisers and requirements. A relevant topic is only the first filter: your company, activities, timing and budget must also fit.
What is direct EU funding?
Under direct management, the European Commission or its agencies administer funding. The EU Funding & Tenders Portal publishes relevant calls and application documents. Horizon Europe is a major research and innovation programme; eligibility and partnership requirements depend on the specific call.
What are national funding programmes?
National and regional authorities run programmes that may use domestic budgets or EU resources. Shared-management EU funding is administered with Member States. Do not assume that a company eligible for one EU programme automatically qualifies for a national scheme: location, investment site and local rules can matter.
What is cascade funding?
Cascade funding, also called Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP), distributes support through an already funded project. Applicants respond to the project's own call and rules. It is a funding mechanism, not a fourth EU management mode or one universal programme with a fixed grant size.
Our recommended shortlisting method
Create one row per opportunity and keep the official call link beside every conclusion. We suggest screening in this order:
- Applicant fit: country, legal entity, company size and any ownership restrictions.
- Project fit: the problem, technology stage, expected outputs and activities actually funded.
- Delivery fit: partners, team capacity, project length and required evidence.
- Financial fit: eligible costs, funding rate, own contribution and payment timing.
- Timing fit: opening date, exact deadline and timezone, and any start-date restrictions.
When should you stop pursuing a call?
Our advice is to stop or seek clarification when a mandatory condition cannot be met, the project would need to be distorted to fit, or the unfunded costs are unaffordable. A smaller, better-aligned opportunity can be more useful than a large but unsuitable award. Record uncertainty rather than treating missing information as eligibility.
Official sources & editorial approach
Sources checked on 5 October 2026. Programme facts link to official sources below; practical checklists are LookFundings guidance. This is not a call-specific eligibility decision. The latest official call documents take precedence.
- European Commission: funding management modes
- European Commission: Horizon Europe
- European Commission: good practices for FSTP (PDF)
Spotted an error? Contact our team.