EOSC Nodes with federating capabilities for the EOSC Federation

The grant opportunity titled "EOSC Nodes with federating capabilities for the EOSC Federation" falls under Horizon Europe, specifically the Research Infrastructures 2025 call (HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01). It aims to enhance the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) by developing interoperable nodes that integrate research data and services across disciplines. The eligible applicant types include universities, research institutes, public-private partnerships, consortia, SMEs, and large enterprises involved in collaborative projects.

The primary funding type is a grant under Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), with projects receiving between €6 million and €8 million, totaling a budget of €30 million for this topic. Proposals require a consortium, involving multiple stakeholders across at least three independent entities from different EU countries to foster collaboration. Geographic eligibility includes EU member states, EEA countries, and associated third countries.

Target sectors encompass ICT, open science, FAIR data management, and digital transformation, with a focus on developing essential federating capabilities that align with the EOSC governance framework. The call supports the creation of a distributed system to improve interoperability and facilitate seamless data sharing among researchers, contributing to a unified research environment.

The application process is an open call with a single-stage submission procedure, open from May 6, 2025, to September 18, 2025. Success rates are typically competitive in Horizon Europe, with some estimates around 10-39%. Co-funding from national or regional sources is expected as part of the project framework.

Proposals must address existing technical, legal, and organizational gaps in federating capabilities and demonstrate sustainability beyond the project lifespan. Additional conditions include granting royalty-free access to results and depositing research data in trusted repositories within the EOSC network.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on launching and expanding the EOSC federation through a network of nodes that enhance research collaboration and open science practices, providing a substantial financial framework for eligible applicants to contribute effectively.

The EU funding opportunity is the HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-EOSC-01 call, titled "EOSC Nodes with federating capabilities for the EOSC Federation." This call falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the Research Infrastructures 2025 call (HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01). It aims to further develop the cross-domain EOSC system by expanding the EOSC federation through a network of nodes.

The call is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) and uses the HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] model grant agreement. The submission process is single-stage, with the opening date on 06 May 2025 and a deadline of 18 September 2025, 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of this call are:
The EOSC federation will be established as a distributed system of systems, comprising of independently managed EOSC nodes that collaborate to augment their contribution to EOSC users whilst ensuring resilience of the interconnected systems by supporting the common federating capabilities.
Researchers will benefit from unified support aimed at integrating their research environments with the EOSC federation and this coordinated assistance will streamline the alignment of research practices with the EOSC ecosystem.

The scope of the call includes:
Developing and expanding the EOSC federation through a network of nodes as baseline elements of the federation model.
Establishing essential federating capabilities compatible with the EOSC EU Node reference architecture, following the EOSC Federation Handbook and EOSC interoperability framework.
Nodes should have a clearly described identity and offer unique value to EOSC users, representing a specific thematic domain (e.g., data or computing) or geographical area amongst the Horizon Europe participating and associated countries.
Proposals should demonstrate the ability to assess and address existing gaps regarding federating capabilities at technical, legal, and organizational levels.
Adherence to the EOSC governance structure, federation policies, and capabilities.
Addressing business models, service management procedures, and technical and semantic interoperability.
A credible plan to ensure the sustainability of the proposed solutions beyond the project lifespan, including how to take over or replicate the federating role currently ensured by the EOSC EU Node.

More specifically, proposals should focus on:
Satisfying minimal node requirements as defined by the EOSC tripartite governance and going beyond them by further development and refinement of the harmonized participation model.
Compliance with requirements on the legal status of the organization.
Compliance with requirements aiming at large-scale, quality service provisioning.
Capacity to onboard third-party services.
Capacity to contribute to and/or take over the EOSC federating capabilities.
Adoption and integration of the EOSC federation rules and policies, and further refinement and practical adaptation of best practices.
Support to effectively monitor and report the activities of the services provided.
Integrating and offering EOSC core federating capabilities pioneered by the EOSC EU Node, such as Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting, Research Catalogues and Knowledge Graph, Application Workflows, Monitoring and Helpdesk.
Contributing to a robust and coordinated strategy for evolving and sustaining the federated governance model for EOSC by fostering effective collaboration and coordination among the other node operators offering federating capabilities.
Enriching the existing guidelines and best practices for the onboarding and enrolment processes.
Evolving and refining the EOSC federation specifications to drive the evolution across governance, operations, sustainability, and technical interoperability.
Designating and training the EOSC node operators, especially those offering federating capabilities, for high level of responsibilities within the EOSC federation.
Developing and running community engagement and support programs around the EOSC nodes and the surrounding ecosystem.

Admissibility Conditions:
Proposal page limit and layout: Described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
Eligible Countries: Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions exist for non-EU/non-Associated Countries; refer to the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Other Eligible Conditions: Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: Described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and Award:
Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds: Described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission and evaluation processes: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC Partnership will be taken into account for Impact.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Legal and Financial Set-up:
Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants, up to a maximum of EUR 60 000 per third party.
Beneficiaries will be subject to additional access rights, including granting royalty-free access to results and intellectual property rights to the EOSC Association and other legal entities for monitoring, policy development, and further development of the EOSC.
Beneficiaries must deposit digital research data in a trusted repository federated in the EOSC, complying with EOSC requirements, as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and Evaluation:
Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including standard application forms for HE RIA and HE CSA.
Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including standard evaluation forms for HE RIA and HE CSA.

Guidance Documents:
HE Programme Guide
Model Grant Agreements (MGA): HE MGA, HE Unit MGA, Lump Sum MGA, Operating Grants MGA, Framework Partnership Agreement FPA
Call-specific instructions: Detailed budget table (HE LS), Information on financial support to third parties (HE), Information on clinical studies (HE), Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"

Additional Documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 3. Research Infrastructures
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

Budget Overview:
The total budget for the Research Infrastructures 2025 call is significant, with various topics and action types (CSA and RIA) having different budget allocations and indicative grant numbers. The opening date for all topics is 06 May 2025, and the deadline is 18 September 2025.

Partner Search:
There are 7 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests.

Submission:
The submission session is now available. To access the Electronic Submission Service, click the submission button next to the appropriate action type and model grant agreement.

Support:
For help, refer to the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesks.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to develop and expand the EOSC federation by establishing and supporting EOSC nodes with essential federating capabilities. It seeks to address gaps at technical, legal, and organizational levels, promote adherence to EOSC governance, and ensure the sustainability of solutions. The call encourages proposals that satisfy minimal node requirements, integrate core federating capabilities, contribute to a coordinated governance strategy, and engage with the research community. Financial support to third parties is allowed for onboarding purposes, and beneficiaries are subject to specific access rights and data deposition requirements. The call provides a comprehensive framework and resources for applicants to contribute to the establishment of a robust and sustainable European Open Science Cloud.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the nature of Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), eligible applicants typically include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other legal entities capable of conducting research and innovation activities. The call is targeted towards entities that can contribute to the development and expansion of the EOSC federation.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily grant-based, specifically HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe program. Financial support to third parties (FSTP) is also provided in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party.

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required. However, given the scope and objectives of the call, particularly the need to establish a network of EOSC nodes, it is highly likely that a consortium of multiple applicants is preferred, if not required. The call aims to foster collaboration and coordination among different entities to contribute to the EOSC federation.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and countries associated with the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. The call also mentions that a number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries have made specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects, subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.

Target Sector: The program targets the research infrastructures sector, specifically focusing on the development and expansion of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). The thematic areas include data, computing, and related services, with a cross-domain approach. The call also addresses technical, legal, and organizational aspects of federating research resources.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU Member States and countries associated with the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. It also refers to non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have made specific provisions for funding their participants.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project for this opportunity ranges from development to demonstration. The call aims to build upon the results of previous INFRAEOSC calls and further develop the EOSC system of systems. Proposals are expected to demonstrate the ability to assess and address existing gaps in federating capabilities and propose sustainable solutions.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call. The budget overview provides the following ranges:
HORIZON-CSA: EUR 1,000,000 to EUR 8,000,000
HORIZON-RIA: EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 15,000,000
Specific grant amounts are indicated for each topic, such as EUR 6,000,000 to EUR 8,000,000 for HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-EOSC-01 and EUR 7,500,000 to EUR 15,000,000 for HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-EOSC-03.

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 grants. Additionally, they will be subject to specific access rights and obligations, such as providing royalty-free access to results and depositing digital research data in trusted repositories.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

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

Summary: This Horizon Europe call (HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01) focuses on developing and expanding the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) federation through a network of EOSC nodes. The call is structured around several topics, including development actions (DEV), EOSC-specific actions (EOSC), service-related actions (SERV), and technology-focused actions (TECH), each with varying budgets and objectives. The primary goal is to establish a distributed system of systems that enhances the contribution of research infrastructures to EOSC users while ensuring resilience and interoperability. Eligible applicants include a range of entities from EU Member States and associated countries, with potential participation from non-EU countries under specific conditions. Projects should address technical, legal, and organizational gaps in federating research resources, adhere to EOSC governance, and propose sustainable business models. Funding is provided through grants, with opportunities for financial support to third parties for onboarding services. The application process is a single-stage open call, and successful projects are expected to contribute to a more unified and robust EOSC federation.