EOSC Gravity Inter-Project Grants Open Call 1

The EOSC Gravity Inter-Project Grants Open Call 1 is a funding opportunity designed to enhance the services associated with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Federation. It aims to support projects that either demonstrate valuable scientific use cases that leverage EOSC resources or pilot the onboarding of new services into EOSC Nodes.

Eligible applicants include research infrastructures, universities, research-performing organizations, institutes, and EOSC Federation Candidate Nodes. Notably, partners of the EOSC Gravity consortium, their affiliated entities, and their employees are ineligible to apply. Geographic eligibility covers EU Member States, including outermost regions, Overseas Countries and Territories linked to these states, and Horizon Europe associated countries, which include Albania, Armenia, and several others, while Hungary has specific restrictions.

The funding operates as a grant mechanism, with a budget of €400,000 allocated to a minimum of 8 projects, each capped at €50,000. The funding is linked to milestones and deliverables rather than traditional reimbursements. The application process is single-stage and submissions must be made through the ESF online platform, open from November 3, 2025, to February 18, 2026.

The evaluation consists of five stages: an eligibility check, a pre-assessment by external evaluators, a review panel, a consensus report on proposals, and an announcement of results. Applicants must secure endorsement from at least one EOSC Candidate Node and demonstrate how their project aligns with the goals of the EOSC Federation to provide tangible benefits to the research community.

In summary, the call supports the operational strengthening of the EOSC Federation through innovative scientific initiatives, with an inclusive funding structure aimed at fostering research collaboration and enhancing open science in Europe.

The EOSC Gravity Inter-Project Grant first open call supports projects that expand the services offered through the EOSC Federation and demonstrate a clear benefit for end users. This can be achieved through: 1) the development of scientific use cases that demonstrate the usefulness of the EOSC Federation, or 2) by piloting how new services can be added (“onboarded”) into one or more EOSC Nodes to be used by end users. Awarded projects must secure written endorsement from at least one Candidate EOSC Node.

The opening date for this call is November 3, 2025, and the deadline for submission is February 18, 2026, at 17:00 (Brussels time). The expected duration of participation is 6 months. The total funding available is 400,000 EUR. The project acronym is EOSC Gravity, and the full name of the EU-funded project is Supporting the EOSC Partnership in further consolidating the coordination and sustainability of the EOSC ecosystem. The grant agreement number is 101188045. The topic is HORIZON-INFRA-2024-EOSC-01-02 - Supporting the EOSC Partnership in further consolidating the coordination and sustainability of the EOSC ecosystem.

Submissions are done exclusively via the ESF online platform. For a first connection, use the provided link; for subsequent connections, use the other provided link.

The submission process is supported by the following documents: 1. Online Form: completed via the ESF platform and divided into three sections: (1) Preliminary information, (2) Endorsement/acknowledgement of the corresponding Node, and (3) Submission of a PDF describing the Excellence, Impact, and Implementation of the application. 2. Guidelines for Applicants: all the information needed before applying, including annexes with the Sub-Grant Agreement, technical guidelines for the platform, and a detailed payment schedule for successful applicants. 3. FAQ section: available on the call website and regularly updated.

The evaluation process has 5 stages: 1. Eligibility check: A filtering to discard non-eligible proposals (Eligible Entities & Countries). 2. Pre-Assessment: External evaluators with experience in EOSC activities will review each proposal, scoring them based on three criteria: Excellence, Impact, and Implementation. 3. Review panel: External evaluators will meet in a panel meeting to discuss the proposals and establish a ranked list. 4. Consensus Report: The panel members will produce a consensus report for each application, summarizing the panel discussions. Narrative comments (not scores) from the consensus reports will be communicated to the applicants. 5. Announcement of the results: All applicants will be informed about the evaluation process outcome: non-eligible, under threshold, approved but not selected, or selected. Each applicant will receive the decision and the following steps (if applicable) via email.

The 400,000 EUR budget will be distributed across several projects (minimum 8), each funded with a maximum of 50,000 EUR. The duration of each funded project will be 6 months, starting on May 6, 2026. The financing is provided through a lump sum scheme, linked to the completion of milestones and deliverables. The grant is awarded to the project coordinator only.

The applicant must: Demonstrate alignment with EOSC objectives and contribute to the EOSC Federation build-up process. Clearly define the project scope and present a clear set of objectives aligned with the EOSC Federation build-up process. Present a strong value proposition that highlights how the project contributes to the EOSC Federation, including benefits to researchers and participating organizations. Clearly identify the expected impact, define a robust strategy to maximize the achievement of their objectives, and ensure effective stakeholder engagement throughout the project lifecycle.

Projects are expected to: Deploy a scientific use case demonstrating the usefulness of the EOSC Federation and/or Pilot the onboarding of services into the EOSC Federation. Provide documentation and lessons learned that could support the EOSC Academy. Include written endorsement from at least one of the Nodes, provided through the application website as an email from the coordinator of each involved Node, confirming the intended scope, objectives, and timeline of the implementation.

Eligible countries are: Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU), including their outermost regions. Although Hungary is a MS of the EU, according to Council Implementing Decision 2022/2506, no legal commitments should be entered into with any public interest trust established based on the Hungarian Law IX of 2021 or with any entity maintained by said public interest trust. Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) linked to the MS. Horizon Europe associated countries at the time the EOSC GRAVITY grant entered into force (October 2024), (except from those only associated to Pillar II) which are: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom and potentially Egypt, Morocco and Switzerland (if association agreements start producing legal effects). Other associated countries not included in this list, are not eligible.

Eligible entities are: Research Infrastructures (RIs), Universities and other research-performing organizations, Institutes, experts from the wider RI landscape, as well as EOSC Federation Candidate Nodes and organizations wanting to pilot onboarding a service without necessarily wanting to become a Node at this stage.

EOSC GRAVITY consortium partners, their affiliated entities, and their employees are not eligible.

The maximum funding that can be granted to a single organization for all EOSC Gravity calls combined (3 calls in total) cannot exceed 100,000 EUR. The maximum funding that can be granted to a single organization for the EOSC Gravity Inter-Project Calls (2 calls in total) cannot exceed 50,000 EUR. In case of consortia, this rule applies to the Project Coordinator as well as to the co-applicants.

The application should be submitted in English.

The web address for further information is https://eosc.eu/eosc-about/calls-grants/. The email address for further information is EOSC-Gravity-grants@esf.org. The open call submission platform is available via the provided links for first and subsequent connections.

In summary, this is a call for proposals under the EOSC Gravity project, aimed at expanding the services and demonstrating the usefulness of the EOSC Federation. Projects should focus on developing scientific use cases or piloting the onboarding of new services into EOSC Nodes. The call is open to a wide range of research-oriented entities from eligible countries, with a maximum funding of 50,000 EUR per project for a duration of 6 months. The application process involves submitting an online form and supporting documents through the ESF platform, and the evaluation process includes eligibility checks, pre-assessment by experts, a review panel, and a consensus report. The goal is to support projects that align with EOSC objectives, contribute to the EOSC Federation build-up, and provide benefits to researchers and participating organizations.

Eligible Applicant Types: Research Infrastructures (RIs), Universities and other research-performing organizations, Institutes, experts from the wider RI landscape, as well as EOSC Federation Candidate Nodes and organisations wanting to pilot onboarding a service without necessarily wanting to become a Node at this stage. EOSC GRAVITY consortium partners, their affiliated entities, and their employees, are not eligible.

Funding Type: Grant. The financing is provided through a lump sum scheme, linked to completion of milestones and deliverables.

Consortium Requirement: The grant is awarded to the project coordinator only, but the text mentions "co-applicants" in the context of funding limits, suggesting that consortia are possible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU), including their outermost regions. Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) linked to the MS. Horizon Europe associated countries at the time the EOSC GRAVITY grant entered into force (October 2024), (except from those only associated to Pillar II) which are: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom and potentially Egypt, Morocco and Switzerland (if association agreements start producing legal effects). Other associated countries not included in this list, are not eligible. Hungary is a MS of the EU, but restrictions apply to public interest trusts established based on the Hungarian Law IX of 2021 or with any entity maintained by said public interest trust.

Target Sector: This program targets the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and related research and innovation activities. It focuses on expanding the services offered through the EOSC Federation, developing scientific use cases, and piloting the onboarding of new services into EOSC Nodes. The thematic areas are related to research infrastructures, data management, and scientific computing.

Mentioned Countries: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom, EU member states and their outermost regions.

Project Stage: The projects are expected to be in the development or validation/demonstration stage, focusing on deploying scientific use cases and piloting the onboarding of services.

Funding Amount: Up to €50,000 per project. The total budget for the call is €400,000, distributed across a minimum of 8 projects. The maximum amount of funding that can be granted to a single organisation for all EOSC Gravity calls combined (3 calls in total) cannot exceed 100.000 EUR. The maximum amount of funding that can be granted to a single organisation for the EOSC Gravity Inter-Project Calls (2 calls in total) cannot exceed 50.000 EUR.

Application Type: Open call. Submissions are done exclusively via the ESF online platform.

Nature of Support: Money. Beneficiaries will receive funding in the form of a grant, with payments linked to the completion of milestones and deliverables.

Application Stages: The evaluation process has 5 stages: Eligibility check, Pre-Assessment, Review panel, Consensus Report, and Announcement of the results.

Success Rates: Not specified, but the call aims to fund a minimum of 8 projects out of the total applications received.

Co-funding Requirement: Not explicitly mentioned, but the focus on lump sum funding linked to deliverables suggests that co-funding is not a strict requirement.

Summary:

The EOSC Gravity Inter-Project Grant first open call is a funding opportunity aimed at expanding the services offered through the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Federation. The call supports projects that either develop scientific use cases demonstrating the usefulness of the EOSC Federation or pilot the onboarding of new services into EOSC Nodes. Eligible applicants include research infrastructures, universities, research-performing organizations, institutes, experts, and EOSC Federation Candidate Nodes. The call is open to entities from EU Member States, their outermost regions and Overseas Countries and Territories, and Horizon Europe associated countries (with some exceptions).

The funding is provided as a grant, with a maximum of €50,000 per project, and is distributed based on the completion of milestones and deliverables. Projects should align with EOSC objectives, present a clear value proposition, and demonstrate a strategy for maximizing impact. Applicants must secure written endorsement from at least one of the Candidate EOSC Nodes. The application process involves submitting an online form and a PDF document detailing the project's excellence, impact, and implementation. The evaluation process consists of five stages, including eligibility check, pre-assessment, review panel, consensus report, and announcement of results. The call aims to fund a minimum of 8 projects, with a total budget of €400,000. The projects are expected to last for 6 months, starting on May 6th, 2026. The call opened on November 3, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is February 18, 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time.