Version 10.0 published on 15 December 2025
The European Commission has published a set of new proposal templates - for RIA and IA actions; for RIA and IA actions stage 1; for RIA and IA actions stage 1 (BLIND); for CSA actions; for CSA actions stage 1; for CSA actions stage 1 (BLIND)
Overall, the history of changes tells us:
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Adapted according to WP 2026-2027 simplifications. Simplified sections 2.1, 3.1, and reduced page limit. Tags removed
In this blog post, let us go through how the instructions changed, what simplifications have been introduced, and how to handle them when developing the proposal.
Part A:
5 - Other questions changed
There has been an addition to Section 5 in Part A by EISMEA.
This change will not cause any issues for most of our proposals, as you will probably see this in the interactive Part A when you open it: Not applicable for this topic
The information to be added for the 2-stage call or clinical trials remained the same.
The addition is relevant for EIC calls:
Part B changes:
The most important thing is the length of the proposal.
– CSA actions have max 25 pages. LS CSA actions max 28 pages;
– RIA and IA actions have max 40 pages. LS RIA and IA actions max 45 pages;
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Page limits for stage 1 proposals remained 10 pages
So 5 pages are to be cut!
Where from?
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2.1 is one page shorter
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2.3 Summary became optional, so here you may save 1-2 pages – but I do not recommend deleting the whole 2.3. It actually gives a very useful impact summary that helps the evaluators.
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3.1 should be 2 pages shorter
The length recommendation in RIA/IA for the sections is the following:
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(4 pages) – same as before
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(14 pages) – same as before
2.1 (3 pages) – used to be 4 pages (see below what to cut)
2.2 (3 pages) – same as before, as 5 pages were suggested for 2.2 and 2.3 together
2.3 now optional – used to be 2 pages – I suggest having 1 page for this
3.1 (12 pages and 17 pages for LS) – used to be 14/19
3.2 (3 pages) – same as before
This is now 39 pages in total, so the remaining 1 page could be used for 2.3.
Instructions helping you to comply with the shorter proposal requirements:
Just to remind all of you, in the 2024 version the EC changed already the instructions in section 1.2: text has been removed that requested information on compliance with the “do not significant harm principal” and demonstration of technical robustness of any AI technology developed or used.
More importantly, the detailed research data management description is not included, only the need for the DMP to be developed by M6. This saves 1 page in the Methodology section.
Then, in section 2.1, text has been removed that provided guidance on different types of KIPs, Key Impact Pathways (scientific, economic, societal) and there is no instruction for a scale and significance section. Altogether, this may not necessarily save a full page, but it will be close.
In section 3.1, only table 3.1h, the justification of purchase costs, has been simplified. It previously demanded justifications for all categories of purchase costs but only for amounts exceeding 15% of personnel costs. It now demands justification only for major equipment costs –all equipment costs if they exceed 15% of personnel costs (not just on the amount exceeding the 15%).
The new instructions are just asking for more detailed and specific information within the work plan. Not sure how this helps in any way to cut 2 pages. We need to figure this out. If you have any suggestions for us, please use the comments below.
