Participants

In most cases EU research funding through FP7 is to be sought by building a consortium in order to submit a project proposal in response to a call. The eligibility of these consortia also varies according to different conditions related to the type of action of instrument. (FUNDING SCHEMES)

Eligible Entities

At least three legal entities (defined as organisations or individual researchers) must partici­pate in collaborative projects, each of which is established in a Member State or Associated country, and no two of which are established in the same Member State or Associated country. All three legal entities must be independent of each other in accordance with Article 6 of the RFP, meaning they are not subsidiaries of the same organisation or of each other.
For coordination and support actions, and actions in favour of training and career develop­ment of researchers, the minimum condition shall be the participation of one legal entity.
For indirect actions to support investigator-driven ‘frontier’ research projects funded in the framework of the European Research Council, the minimum condition shall be the participa­tion of one legal entity established in a Member State or in an Associated country.
Where the minimum conditions for an indirect action are satisfied by a number of legal enti­ties, which together form one legal entity, the latter may be the sole participant in an indirect action, provided that it is established in a Member State or Associated country. The partici­pation of natural persons will ensure that the creation and development of scientific excellen­ce and ability are not limited to Community funding of projects involving only legal persons, ensuring also the participation of SMEs that are not legal persons.

Eligible CountriesWhile FP7 participants can in principle be based anywhere, there are different categories of countries which may have varying eligibility for different specific and work programmes:

• MEMBER STATES - The EU-27;
• ASSOCIATED COUNTRIES – with science and technology cooperation agreements that involved contributing to the framework programme budget;(e.g. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Israel, Switzerland)
• CANDIDATE COUNTRIES – currently recognised as candidates for future accession;(e.g. Croatia, Turkey)
• THIRD COUNTRIES - the participation of organisations or individuals established in countries that are not Member States, candidates or associated should also be justified in terms of the enhanced contribution to the objectives of FP7.(e.g. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Egypt, India, Korea,, Mexico, Morocco Russia, Tunisia, Ukraine, United States)