European UnionDeadline PassedNon-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution, Other
Support for R&I policy making in the EU enlargement countries
HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-04-ACCESS-01
Funding Amount
Amount not specified
Deadline
16/09/2025
Eligible Organization Types
Non-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution, Other
Trusted by
What is the Support for R&I policy making in the EU enlargement countries Call?
Grant Description
Support for national and regional research, innovation and education initiatives in enlargement countries by pooling resources, aligning policies and fostering capacity building. Activities include policy dialogue platforms, institutional reform, gender equality plans, technology transfer improvement, networking for excellence, and coordination of funding instruments to integrate enlargement countries into the European Research and Innovation Areas.
Required Results for Successful Funding
Expected Outcomes
Funded projects will: support Western Balkans Steering Platforms for policy dialogue (including their annual ministerial meeting); facilitate implementation of the Western Balkans Agenda on Innovation, Research, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, in synergy with the Growth Plans for the Western Balkans, Moldova and Ukraine; foster further integration of enlargement countries into the ERA and EIA and highlight their strategic importance in the EU integration process; promote regional economic growth via game-changing innovations for a sustainable, human-centric digital future; support reform of R&I ecosystems and capacity building; align enlargement countries with EU priorities (Green Deal, digital transformation, ICT/digital skills, knowledge transfer); reduce the innovation performance divide by improving European Innovation Scoreboard rankings; support accession processes and integration into relevant EU programmes; identify and agree common R&I priorities; implement joint initiatives and fund regional innovation actions; and financially support other joint R&I, regulatory or societal uptake activities.
Funded areas
Scope Requirements
Proposals must target Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine. They must support national and regional R&I and education initiatives in line with the Widening programme objectives and contribute to integration in the European Research Area (ERA) and European Innovation Area (EIA). Activities must: foster sustainable and inclusive growth, resilience of production sectors and economic competitiveness; build R&I capacity; strengthen institutional cooperation; develop human capital; establish open, inclusive and responsible R&I ecosystems; support inclusive gender equality plans; enable evidence-based policy reforms; deliver synergies across Horizon Europe and related EU programmes; coordinate multiple instruments to increase participation of enlargement countries; avoid overlaps; support people-to-people cooperation; form partnerships with higher education, creative and industry sectors; and align with the Western Balkans Agenda on Innovation, Research, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.
Additional Conditions for Applicants
Special Conditions
The coordinator must be a legal entity established in a Widening country and at least 50% of the budget must be allocated to beneficiaries in Widening countries. Proposals must respect page limits and layout requirements (Annex A/E and Part B of the Application Form). Eligible countries and participants are defined in Annex B of the Work Programme; financial and operational capacity is assessed per Annex C. Evaluation criteria, scoring and thresholds follow Annex D; submission and evaluation procedures follow Annex F. Beneficiaries may provide grants to third parties (max EUR 60 000 each) under Annex G. All ten enlargement countries must be addressed and benefit; open access to results is the default. Applications must use the HE CSA standard form and adhere to the Funding & Tenders Portal terms.
Important dates
Open from: 06/05/2025
Deadline:16/09/2025
Application period has ended
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