Advisory before drafting
EU funding consultancy for your project idea
EU funding advice on call selection, eligibility and proposal planning. Discuss your organisation's project idea and funding options with Zeus Consulting.
Call selection and fit
Start with the right question: is there a call that fits?
Idea to programme
We test your idea against the objectives of programmes such as Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, LIFE, Digital Europe or Creative Europe, and say plainly where it does not fit.
Call-level fit
A programme can match while a specific call does not. We compare scope, expected outcomes, budget range and project type against what you actually want to do.
Alternatives
Sometimes the better route is a national or regional scheme, a smaller project, or waiting for a later call. We lay out those options with their trade-offs.
Timing
We look at open and forthcoming calls and how much preparation time your organisation realistically needs before a deadline.
Eligibility checks
What we check before anyone writes a line
Rules differ between calls and change between versions. Every check is made against the current official call documents, never against memory.
An eligibility check reduces avoidable risk. It cannot predict evaluation results or guarantee funding.
- Country: whether your country and any partner countries can receive funding in this call, or take part without funding.
- Legal entity: whether your organisation type, legal status and registration are accepted, and what validation is needed.
- Consortium: minimum number of partners, countries and roles, and whether a single applicant is allowed.
- Co-financing: the funding rate for your entity type, eligible costs, and whether you can carry the remaining share and pre-financing.
- Technology readiness (TRL) where relevant: the level the call expects at start and at end, and whether your work credibly fits.
- Call controls: deadlines, page limits, mandatory annexes, thematic conditions and any exclusion criteria.
Funding strategy
A go / no-go decision you can defend
- 1
Map the options
Shortlist the calls and alternative routes that fit your idea, with the main conditions of each.
- 2
Weigh effort against fit
Compare competition, consortium needs, co-financing and internal workload with the strategic value to your organisation.
- 3
Decide go or no-go
Agree whether to apply, adapt the idea, target a later call, or stop. A reasoned no-go is a useful result.
- 4
Plan the next step
If you go, define roles, open questions and what has to be settled first, and whether drafting or partner search comes next.
What to prepare
Inputs that make a first conversation useful
- A short description of the idea, the problem it addresses and who benefits.
- Your organisation type, country, legal status and relevant past projects or experience.
- Any partners already involved or required, and gaps you expect.
- Rough budget, duration and how much co-financing you can bear.
- Current maturity of the work, including technology readiness if applicable.
- Internal deadlines, decision makers and capacity to contribute to an application.
Where services differ
Advisory, writing and partners are separate
This page
Funding consultancy
Call selection, eligibility, strategy and go/no-go planning, before any proposal text exists.
Separate service
Grant writing
Drafting and structuring the proposal once you have decided to apply. Scope is agreed separately.
Separate service
EU partnerships
Identifying and approaching consortium partners. It is distinct from advisory and agreed separately.
FAQ
Common questions
Do you guarantee that we will get funding?
No. Evaluation is competitive and decided by independent evaluators. Advisory helps you choose and prepare more carefully, but it cannot promise a result.
Do I need to have chosen a call?
No. Start with your objectives, organisation and resources. Call selection is part of advisory; any option must be checked against its current official conditions.
Can I use this before I have partners or a full idea?
Yes. An early conversation is often when call selection and consortium needs are easiest to shape.
Do I have to continue to grant writing afterwards?
No. Advisory stands on its own. Drafting and partner services are separate and optional.
Bring your idea, we will help you test it
Tell us about the organisation and the idea. We will say honestly which routes look worth pursuing.