MY HORIZON EUROPE COACHING PROGRAMME FOR HEALTH RESEARCHERS

Build strong Horizon Europe proposals — without outsourcing your thinking

My Horizon Europe coaching program provides:

1.

Project logic and coherence to build a solid backbone before writing begins.

2.

Practical resources (templates, roadmaps) to help you work efficiently.

3.

Personalized feedback to ensure your proposal meets evaluators’ expectations.

What problem it solves

Preparing a Horizon Europe proposal is challenging — not only intellectually, but also operationally.

Many researchers struggle with:

  • understanding how to navigate the application template and submission process

  • managing multiple documents, inputs and deadlines

  • keeping track of what really matters while dealing with technical requirements

At the same time, deeper issues often emerge:

  • key strategic choices are postponed

  • writing progresses without a clear project backbone

  • effort increases as clarity decreases

This programme addresses both sides of the challenge

It helps you manage the practical complexity of the Horizon Europe process, while also creating the strategic clarity needed to make strong decisions early.

Because in Horizon Europe, operational difficulties are rarely the real problem. They are often a symptom of missing clarity upstream.

What you will gain

Clarity

You will know what to write, where to write it, why you are writing it, and how each part connects to the others.

“I finally understand what the application form is asking for!”

“Now I finally see how all pieces of the proposal fit together.”

Support

You are not alone, but you are also not delegating the work.

“I finally have someone to turn to when I get stuck.”

“The feedback didn’t just improve the text — it changed how I think about the project.”

Structure

A clear roadmap, milestones, and writing priorities — so time is spent where it matters most.

“I know exactly what to do next—no more wasted time.”

“I stopped rewriting randomly and started progressing strategically.”

A coaching programme designed for health researchers

This program is tailored specifically for health researchers who are stepping into - or actively preparing for - the role of coordinator or main applicant in Horizon Europe.

Whether this is your first time leading a proposal, or you have previously covered this role, the focus is on taking ownership of the full project logic, positioning it strategically and managing the application process with clarity and confidence.

What's included

We start with a strategic session to analyse the call text and define the "spine" of the proposal. Then, we identify where the call and the project idea align (and where they don’t yet) and fix mismatches before writing begins

You will receive an annotated application form, with guiding questions clarifying what the evaluators expect in each section — so you never have to start from a blank page

I will give you a workplan, with weekly priorities to follow all the way to the submission deadline. This will break drafting into focused phases (no more jumping between sections) and will help you balance time between application sections (so Impact isn’t rushed while Excellence drags)

We will organise structural coaching check-ins, to unblock issues as you write

10–15 days before the deadline, I will perform a pre-submission review of your draft to catch potential criticisms and give you precise, actionable feedback to polish for clarity and consistency

After my revision, we will meet again to go over suggestions and critical fixes, to discuss how to strengthen the final version

My CRISP methodology to support researchers

To guide researchers through the Horizon Europe application process, I have developed the CRISP methodology—a step-by-step approach that ensures a well-structured, high-quality proposal.

How my CRISP methodology works

C

Call clarity

Understand what the call really asks, to fully grasp the funder's expectations.

R

Review project logic

Analyse strengths, weaknesses and internal coherence.

I

Identify and close gaps

Fix misalignments before they become structural problems.

S

Strategize writing for efficiency

Decide what to write, where, and in which order

P

Polish with purpose

Final review focused on clarity, consistency and evaluator perspective

Why this programme works

This is not about teaching theory, as in generic grant-writing courses.

I focus on the logic of the project: the clarity of the reasoning, the choices behind it, and the coherence that evaluators expect to see across the entire proposal.


Most researchers may already know the rules, the calls, and the evaluation criteria.

The real challenge is making the leap from knowing to deciding:

deciding what really matters in your project

deciding what to prioritise and what to let go

deciding how each part of the proposal serves a single, coherent narrative

Once this clarity is in place, writing becomes a natural consequence of good thinking — not the main struggle.

This is why the programme is demanding, but also transformative: it doesn’t just help you submit a proposal, it strengthens your capacity to think, position and lead as a PI or coordinator.

Who this is for

This programme is for you if you are a health researcher who:

  • has a concrete project idea and a specific Horizon Europe call in mind

  • wants guidance, structure and strategic input

  • is willing to question and refine parts of the proposal

  • is open to receive and integrate feedback

Who this is NOT for

This programme may not be a good fit if you are looking for:

someone to whom you can entrust parts of the proposal, and who can provide you with ready-to-use texts

generic grant writing support, without engaging in the reasoning behind the application

someone to “fix” a proposal, without being willing to take ownership of the project logic and coherence

Check if this programme is right for your proposal

Book a free introductory call, during which you can tell me where you are in your Horizon Europe journey, what difficulties you are encountering and what kind of support you are looking for.

I will be able to tell you more about how I work and what is required to benefit from the programme, and we will assess together whether this programme can truly support your project.

FREE INTRODUCTORY CALL

Who am I?

Hi! I am Serena,

for more than 20 years I have worked exclusively on European research funding — and in particular on Horizon Europe and its predecessor programmes.
I have supported hundreds of researchers in the health domain, across different career stages and institutional contexts.

This means I am deeply familiar with:

the structure and logic evaluators expect

the recurring weaknesses in health proposals

the decision points that most often undermine otherwise strong ideas