ELEVATE: European League of Advanced Digital Skills Academies

The "ELEVATE: European League of Advanced Digital Skills Academies" represents a grant opportunity under the Digital Europe Programme specifically associated with DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09-LEAGUE-OF-ACADEMIES. This initiative focuses on advanced digital skills development in Europe to meet the ambitious target of employing 20 million ICT professionals by 2030. The project aims to establish a coordinating framework for existing sectoral initiatives while promoting collaboration among various stakeholders, including higher education institutions, vocational education and training bodies, industry partners, research organizations, and civil society.

Eligible applicants must form a consortium, which should include at least five entities from a minimum of three different EU Member States or associated countries. The funding type is categorized as a grant, with a 100% funding rate, meaning all eligible costs are covered. The maximum amount available for this grant is €7.2 million. This is a single-stage application process, with submissions opening on November 4, 2025, and closing on March 3, 2026.

The initiative will be structured around four main pillars: coordination and collaboration among existing sectoral initiatives; capacity building through mentoring programs and accreditation frameworks; communication and awareness campaigns to enhance the visibility of ICT careers; and conducting market analysis to assess skills supply and demand effectively. By uniting existing academies such as the Cybersecurity Skills Academy and AI Skills Academy, ELEVATE seeks to provide a cohesive approach to advance digital skills.

The expected outcomes include the development of quality standards for training modules, capacity-building initiatives, enhanced networking among stakeholders, and comprehensive market analyses to guide future strategy and resource allocation. The grant is highly competitive with anticipated success rates likely below 10%, as only one grant will be awarded for this topic.

With no co-funding requirement, the opportunity removes financial barriers for participation, encouraging broad participation across sectors to establish a robust and coordinated digital skills ecosystem in Europe.

This EU grant opportunity, under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL), specifically targets advanced digital skills through the DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09 call. It aims to establish and support the "European League of Advanced Digital Skills Academies" via DIGITAL Coordination and Support Actions (DIGITAL-CSA). The grant type is a DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG]. The call adopts a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date for submissions is November 4, 2025, and the deadline for submission is March 3, 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The primary objective of this call is to address the Digital Decade Policy Programme's ambitious targets, which include employing 20 million ICT professionals in Europe by 2030 while promoting gender equality in the field. The core of the initiative is to foster effective collaboration among stakeholders to enhance advanced digital skills. The European League of Advanced Digital Skills Academies will serve as an umbrella action, federating existing sectoral initiatives like the Cybersecurity Skills Academy and the EuroHPC Virtual Training Academy, as well as newly created sectoral digital skills academies and other EU-funded projects. This includes DIGITAL-funded higher education programs and initiatives like the Digital Large-scale Partnership under the New Pact for Skills and the European Digital Education Hub. The initiative will utilize platforms such as the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform to create a cohesive ecosystem. ELEVATE’s vision encompasses empowering stakeholders through coordination, capacity building, communication, and market analysis, ultimately driving collective achievement in advanced digital skills.

A key deliverable is the development and piloting of a mechanism to provide a seal of quality or accreditation of excellence for training modules offered by existing or upcoming sectoral academies and initiatives.

The scope of the call emphasizes coordination and collaboration among sectoral initiatives and projects to tackle the shortage of ICT specialists. The European League of Advanced Digital Skills Academies will be structured around four pillars:

1. Coordination and collaboration among sectoral academies, initiatives, and projects in advanced digital skills to pool resources and expertise. This will involve improved information sharing, enhanced stakeholder collaboration, unified advocacy for systemic improvements, and strengthened networking.

2. Capacity building activities to complement the training offer of sectoral academies and initiatives, including cross-sectoral mentoring programs and the development of a framework for a certification mechanism of modular learning credentials. The League will leverage the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform and collaborate with the Data Space for Skills.

3. Communication and awareness efforts to boost the visibility and credibility of ICT career paths, promote European advanced digital skills competitions, and explore initiatives to boost public engagement with advanced digital skills.

4. Market analysis and impact assessment to provide insights into existing education and training offers and their alignment with labor market needs.

Expected outcomes include:

A seal of quality/accreditation of excellence for training modules.
Capacity building activities such as cross-sectoral mentoring programmes.
Collaboration with the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform.
A sustainable multi-stakeholder governance structure.
Networking activities and events.
Communication, dissemination and outreach activities.
Detailed market analyses and impact assessments.

The admissibility conditions include proposal page limits and layout requirements, which are detailed in section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form. Eligible countries are described in section 6 of the call document, along with other eligible conditions. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are outlined in section 7 of the call document. The submission and evaluation processes are described in section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual. Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are detailed in section 9 of the call document. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is provided in section 4 of the call document. The legal and financial setup of the grants is described in section 10 of the call document.

The call document and annexes include the CALL DOCUMENT, application form templates (Standard application form (DEP)), model grant agreements (DEP MGA), DEP Work Programmes, DEP Regulation 2021/964, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The budget overview indicates that for the year 2026, the DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09-COMPETITIONS topic has a budget of 7,000,000 EUR, and the DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09-LEAGUE-OF-ACADEMIES topic has a budget of 7,200,000 EUR. Both are single-stage actions with a planned opening date of November 4, 2025, and a deadline of March 3, 2026. One grant is expected to be awarded for each topic.

There are options for partner searches, and the submission system will be opened on the date stated in the topic header. For help, applicants can use the "Write to us" form, consult the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, or contact the IT Helpdesk.

In summary, this call for proposals aims to establish a European League of Advanced Digital Skills Academies to address the growing need for ICT professionals in Europe. It seeks to create a collaborative ecosystem that enhances digital skills training, promotes certification, and supports career development in the ICT sector. The initiative is structured around coordination, capacity building, communication, and market analysis, with the goal of achieving the Digital Decade Policy Programme's ambitious targets for digital employment and gender equality.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the nature of the call, it can be inferred that eligible applicants could include sectoral initiatives, individual projects in advanced digital skills, training institutions, higher education institutions, industry representatives, and other relevant stakeholders in the digital skills and education ecosystem. The call is open to LEARs, Account Administrators or self-registrants having an active public Person profile.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG]. The call is a DIGITAL Coordination and Support Action (DIGITAL-CSA).

Consortium Requirement: The text suggests that a consortium is preferred, as the action aims to federate existing sectoral initiatives and foster synergies. The European League of Advanced Digital Skills Academies is intended to enhance coordination and collaboration among sectoral initiatives and projects. Partner search announcements are available, indicating the possibility of forming consortia.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is likely EU, given that it is part of the Digital Europe Programme. The call aims to create an umbrella action at the European level.

Target Sector: The target sector is advanced digital skills, specifically within the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) domain. This includes areas like cybersecurity, high-performance computing (EuroHPC), and other specialized digital education programs.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the scope is at the European level, implying eligibility for EU member states.

Project Stage: The project stage appears to be focused on development, validation, and demonstration. The call emphasizes the development and piloting of a mechanism for a seal of quality/accreditation of excellence for training modules. It also involves capacity building, networking, and the establishment of a sustainable multi-stakeholder governance structure.

Funding Amount: There are two topics mentioned with specific budgets:
DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09-COMPETITIONS: EUR 7,000,000
DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09-LEAGUE-OF-ACADEMIES: EUR 7,200,000
The indicative number of grants for each topic is 1.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rate cannot be determined from the provided text. However, given that the indicative number of grants for each topic is 1, the success rate is likely to be below 10%.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:
This opportunity is a call under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) focusing on Advanced Digital Skills (DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09). It aims to establish the European League of Advanced Digital Skills Academies, an umbrella action designed to coordinate and support various sectoral initiatives and projects in the field of advanced digital skills. The primary objective is to address the shortage of ICT professionals in Europe and to reach the Digital Decade target of 20 million ICT professionals by 2030, while also promoting gender equality in the sector.

The call seeks to federate existing initiatives like the Cybersecurity Skills Academy and the EuroHPC Virtual Training Academy, as well as newly created sectoral digital skills academies and other EU-funded projects. The European League of Advanced Digital Skills Academies will be structured around four pillars: coordination and collaboration, capacity building, communication and awareness, and market analysis and impact assessment.

Expected outcomes include the development and piloting of a seal of quality for training modules, capacity building activities like mentoring programs, collaboration with the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform, a sustainable multi-stakeholder governance structure, networking events, communication activities, and detailed market analyses.

The funding is provided as a DIGITAL Action Grant, with a budget of EUR 7,200,000 allocated to the DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09-LEAGUE-OF-ACADEMIES topic and EUR 7,000,000 to the DIGITAL-2026-SKILLS-09-COMPETITIONS topic. The application process is single-stage, with a planned opening date of November 4, 2025, and a deadline of March 3, 2026.

Eligible applicants are expected to form consortia and should include sectoral initiatives, training institutions, higher education institutions, industry representatives, and other stakeholders in the digital skills ecosystem. The geographic scope is at the European level, targeting EU member states.