Research and innovation potential is very unevenly distributed across Europe. The excellence and participation of widening countries in research and innovation will be strengthened and expanded in order to improve this situation.
Summit Art Creations / stock.adobe.com
The Horizon Europe work programme part "Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence" is divided into two areas. "Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence" aims to reduce the research and innovation gap between R&I leading and lagging behind countries. It aims to tackle the innovation divide in Europe towards a more cohesive Research and Innovation ecosystem in Europe. The National Contact Point (NCP) for Widening is happy to answer your questions about this section of the programme and assist you with the application process. The area "Reforming and Strengthening the European R&I System" is also part of the work programme, but is advised by the NCP for ERA.
The success of European research and innovation policy is measured by the ability of all involved actors to fully leverage their potential. Therefore, the following objectives are set within the Widening programme area:
Scientific excellence, the expected impact and the proper implementation of projects are the parameters to measure the quality of proposals. In addition, geographic criteria are considered as well.
In Horizon Europe, the budget for activities aimed at widening participation and spreading excellence has increased compared to Horizon 2020. At least 3.3 % of the overall programme budget is reserved for this purpose. This funding primarily benefits participants from widening countries.
Horizon Europe relies on a mix of proven and new measures from Horizon 2020. The guiding framework is the political agenda for the further implementation of the European Research Area. Scientific excellence and competitiveness are closely linked to the capacities of national and regional innovation ecosystems. Due to structural factors, many widening countries are relatively disadvantaged in this regard. The measures in the Widening area therefore actively emphasize and create synergies with EU Structural Funds (for example, in "Teaming" and "Pathways to Synergies"). A central role in linking these measures is played by the strategic priorities defined in the regional innovation strategies (RIS3).
All activities in the current widening part of the work programme for 2023-2025 will be implemented along two main objectives (destinations).
Teaming for Excellence: HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-ACCESS-01-01
The aim of "Teaming" is to create new (or comprehensively upgrade existing) centres of excellence in Member States and regions that have weaker research and innovation sectors. Teaming focuses on the preparation of establishing or upgrading relevant facilities - a process that should be eased by teaming with at least one leading partner elsewhere in Europe.
Teaming Projects have a duration of six years. The amount of funding will be between 8 and 15 million euro with equivalent complementary funding (for example from the European Regional Development Fund).
ERA Fellowships: HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-TALENTS-01-01
ERA Fellowships are awarded to excellent researchers who participate in cross-border mobility by going to a host organization in a Widening country. Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality who wish to participate in research and innovation projects either by coming to Europe from any country in the world or by relocating from within Europe to a Widening country. Researchers must give their consent when applying for the (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships in order to apply for an ERA Fellowship. Applications are then automatically resubmitted for the ERA Fellowship call if the host institution is located in a Widening country and the proposal does not rank high enough to receive funding in the MSCA call.
Widening countries - described in the work programme are: Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Cyprus (so-called EU-13), as well as Greece and Portugal and all Associated Countries with equivalent characteristics in terms of research and innovation performance and the Outermost Regions (defined in Article 349 TFEU).
