Europe’s world class research and technology infrastructures as strategic assets for talent to Choose Europe

Who can apply:Consortia led by legal entities established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries; proposals must include at least one ESFRI Landmark and/or a European Research Infrastructure Consortium ERIC as a beneficiary. Legal entities in non-associated third countries may exceptionally participate as beneficiaries if eligible; the JRC can join selected consortia with zero funding.

Call title:Bridging actions 2027. Topic identifier: HORIZON-BRIDGING. Type of action: HORIZON-CSA Coordination and Support Actions. Type of grant/Type of MGA: HORIZON Lump Sum Grant (HORIZON-AG-LS). Planned opening date: 09 March 2027. Deadline date: 15 June 2027, 17:00 Brussels time (single-stage). Indicative topic budget: €7,500,000 for 2027. Indicative EU contribution per grant: around €1,500,000. Indicative number of grants: around 5.

Aim:leverage Europe’s world-class research and technology infrastructures to attract global scientific talent and strengthen Europe as a partner of choice for international scientific cooperation, consistent with the European strategy on research and technology infrastructures.

Expected outcomes (projects must contribute to all):creation of interconnected international scientific networks centred on European research and technology infrastructures and, where appropriate, their university partners and alliances; creation of opportunities for EU/Associated Countries scientific communities to engage with excellent researchers outside the EU; development of a Choose Europe strategic direction to promote Europe as destination for top scientific talent and to position European infrastructures as reliable international partners; strengthened visibility and communication of Europe’s research and technology infrastructures as world-class hubs for science and innovation and for attracting talent and fostering international cooperation.

Scope and typical activities:partnering with scientific institutions in non-associated third countries to align methodologies, testing protocols and data sharing; promote uptake in other world regions of practices developed by pan-European research and technology infrastructures to ensure comparability of results; support design of distributed research ecosystems including data and cloud platforms; organise joint workshops, training programmes, summer schools and scientific visits targeted at students, early-career researchers, scientific staff and technicians while promoting gender-balanced participation; organise targeted dissemination and outreach, produce reusable communication assets, coordinate presence at major international science and innovation fora and reinforce links with EURAXESS. Where relevant, projects should build on resources funded under HORIZON-WIDERA2022-ERA-01-60.

Areas to be addressed:Proposals must clearly identify one of the 9 areas below or select Cross-cutting area or Other area. Area 1: Health and biomedical sciences. Area 2: Food science and agriculture technologies. Area 3: Clean energy and clean mobility solutions. Area 4: Environmental and Climate sciences and observation. Area 5: Physics and astronomy. Area 6: Advanced materials. Area 7: Social sciences and humanities. Area 8: Cross-cutting area. Area 9: Other area.

Interaction with JRC:proposals in Health and biomedical sciences could consider inclusion of JRC EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM) and the Nanobiotechnology Laboratory (in Health and Food science areas). The JRC may participate as beneficiary with zero funding or as associated partner in the selected consortia and will not participate in proposal preparation; collaboration should be established after proposal approval. Proposals should take into account the Council Recommendation of 23 May 2024 on enhancing research security and principles for responsible internationalisation 1.

Eligible countries:described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Standard Horizon Europe eligibility rules apply. Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may exceptionally be funded in this CSA if eligible for funding and deemed essential for the action (subject to provisions in General Annexes and programme guide).

Consortium requirement:consortia must include at least one ESFRI Landmark and/or at least one European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) as a beneficiary. For ESFRI Landmarks that are not ERICs or international European research organisations, the legal entity hosting the infrastructure in the lead country must be beneficiary. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may join selected consortia as beneficiary with zero funding or as associated partner; the JRC will not participate in proposal preparation.

Funding type:grant in the form of lump sum contributions. Eligible costs are reimbursed using lump sums as defined in the Decision authorising lump sums under Horizon Europe (Decision of 7 July 2021). Type of action: Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) awarded as lump sum grants (HORIZON-AG-LS).

Indicative funding and number of grants:Total indicative topic budget: €7,500,000 (budget year 2027). Indicative EU contribution per project: around €1,500,000. Indicative number of grants: around 5.

Co-funding requirement:lump sum model replaces detailed eligible cost claims; applicants must define and justify the effort and activities in the proposal. No separate co-funding percentage is specified in the topic text; standard Horizon Europe rules and General Annexes apply. Where matching or additional national funding is needed for activities beyond the lump sum, this should be described in the proposal and is subject to programme rules and eligibility.

Submission procedure:single-stage via the Funding & Tenders Portal submission system using the application form available in the Submission System. Proposal page limits and layout are described in Part B of the Application Form and Annexes A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Use the application form in the Submission System; examples are available in the Reference Documents page.

Evaluation and award:standard CSA evaluation form applies (score 0-5 with half marks allowed). Three award criteria: Excellence, Impact and Quality and efficiency of the implementation. Individual criterion threshold: 3/5. Overall threshold: sum of the three equals minimum 10/15. The call will aim for a balanced portfolio across the nine areas; grants may be awarded not only by rank order but also to the highest ranked proposal within each area, subject to thresholds and budget availability.

Application stages:single-stage call (1). Indicative timeline for opening (09 March 2027), deadline (15 June 2027) and evaluation/grant preparation is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. Applicants should consult the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual and HE Programme Guide for details on submission, evaluation and grant management.

Eligible applicant types (typical and expected):research infrastructures (ESFRI Landmarks, ERICs), universities, research institutes, public research organisations, SME and large enterprises where relevant (particularly for communication/outreach or training activities), non-profit organisations, networks and university alliances. Individual researchers are not direct beneficiaries; actions are expected to be implemented by legal entities. Participation of SMEs is encouraged; consortia are expected to be industry-aware where relevant.

Beneficiary geographic scope:primarily EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Exceptional participation of legal entities from non-associated third countries as beneficiaries or affiliated entities is possible only where explicitly allowed and justified in the topic and per General Annexes and HE Programme Guide.

Target sectors / thematic scope:multi-sectoral; projects must select one of the listed thematic areas: health and biomedical sciences; food science and agriculture technologies; clean energy and clean mobility solutions; environmental and climate sciences and observation; physics and astronomy; advanced materials; social sciences and humanities; cross-cutting; or other. Cross-cutting digital, AI and INCO priorities are relevant. Projects addressing multiple areas should select Cross-cutting area.

Project stage / expected maturity:activities focus on networking, training, exchange, capacity building, dissemination and system design rather than R&D TRL progression. Projects are expected to deliver coordination, outreach, and ecosystem design activities suitable for deploying and showcasing infrastructures, and to target early-stage to mid-career researchers and technical personnel. This is not a TRL-driven RIA/IA; maturity relates to readiness to build long-term international collaborations and distributed research ecosystems.

Application forms and templates:applicants must use the standard application form available in the Submission System. Standard application form for HE CSA is used (Part A and Part B). Proposal page limits and layout are given in Part B of the Application Form; specific exceptions and extended page limits are noted in topic-specific conditions where applicable. Evaluation form (HE CSA) v5.0 will be used for assessment; applicants should consult annotated model grant agreement, lump sum guidance and HE Programme Guide. Applicants should review standard evaluation form and scoring guide to structure the proposal.

Templates and supporting documents referenced:Application form (HE CSA) in Submission System; Standard evaluation form (HE CSA); Lump Sum MGA; Guidance: Lump sums - what do I need to know?; HE Programme Guide; Model Grant Agreements; Reference documents listed under the Funding & Tenders Portal (WP 2026-2027 Part 14 and General Annexes).

Admissibility and eligibility specifics:proposal page limits and layout as per Part B of the Application Form and Annexes A and E. If projects use satellite-based earth observation, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. For ESFRI Landmarks that are not ERICs, the legal entity hosting the infrastructure in the lead country must be beneficiary. The JRC may participate as zero-funded beneficiary or associated partner in funded projects; it will not participate in proposal preparation.

Portfolio balance:to ensure a balanced portfolio across the nine areas, grants will be awarded not only by ranking but also to highest ranked proposals within each area subject to thresholds and budget availability.

Legal and financial set-up:lump sum grant under Horizon Europe rules. Eligible costs are defined via lump sum decision. General Annexes (A to G) set admissibility, eligibility, financial and operational capacity, exclusion and award procedures. Applicants must satisfy legal entity validation requirements and appoint a LEAR. Standard Horizon Europe rules on ownership, exploitation and dissemination of results apply; in addition, the granting authority may, up to four years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results in specific cases as set out in grant conditions.

Exclusion and security:proposals should consider the Council Recommendation on enhancing research security and apply principles for responsible internationalisation. Activities must be exclusively civil in nature and must not include excluded activities as stated in the General Annexes (e.g., human cloning for reproductive purposes, genetic modifications making changes heritable, destruction of human embryos, etc.).

Support resources:Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual; HE Programme Guide; National Contact Points (NCPs); Enterprise Europe Network for SME support; IT Helpdesk for portal issues; European IPR Helpdesk for IP; CEN-CENELEC and ETSI research helpdesks for standardisation advice; Partner Search services on the Portal for finding consortium partners.

Application stages:single-stage call (one submission and evaluation step). Evaluation uses the standard HE CSA evaluation process; if thresholds are met and budget is available, ranking and area-balancing rules apply. Indicative timeline for evaluation, selection and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Success rates:not specified for the topic. Indicative expected number of grants (5) and the topic budget give a rough idea of competition; actual success rate will depend on number and quality of proposals received. Applicants should assume competitive selection and design proposals to meet thresholds and the nine-area portfolio balance.

Practical advice for applicants:ensure consortia include required ESFRI Landmark/ERIC beneficiary; clearly select and justify the addressed thematic area; present a credible Choose Europe strategy, outreach and dissemination plan including reusable communication assets; describe mechanisms for partnering with non-associated third-country institutions and show due regard to research security; include concrete training and mobility activities for target groups and measures to ensure gender balance; ensure data sharing, security and distributed research ecosystem design are addressed; consult lump sum guidance and ensure work packages and lump sum parameters are coherent and assessable by evaluators.

Templates and application structure outline:Use the standard HE CSA application form in the Submission System. Suggested structure to follow (based on HE CSA Part B): 1. Excellence: objectives, relation to topic, Choose Europe strategy, methodology and activities (workshops, summer schools, training, joint visits), target groups and gender balance. 2. Impact: expected outcomes mapped to topic outcomes, dissemination and communication plan (including reusable assets, participation at international fora, link to EURAXESS), exploitation and sustainability plan for networks and platforms. 3. Implementation: work plan and work packages, deliverables, milestones, risk management, management structure, list of beneficiaries and their roles (explicitly identify ESFRI Landmark/ERIC beneficiary), resource and lump sum justification. 4. Ethics and research security: describe compliance with research security recommendations and responsible internationalisation. 5. Annexes: CVs of key staff, letters of support (including from ESFRI Landmark/ERIC where relevant), preliminary agreements with JRC if applicable, supporting evidence for third-country partnership plans.

Primary funding mechanism:grant awarded as a lump sum contribution under Horizon Europe (HORIZON-AG-LS) for Coordination and Support Actions (CSA).

Requirement:consortium required with at least one ESFRI Landmark and/or an ERIC as beneficiary. The call is not for single applicants; coordination and networking activities imply multi-partner consortia.

Beneficiary scope:EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries per Annex B. Non-associated third-country entities may exceptionally participate as funded beneficiaries when allowed and justified, otherwise as affiliated or associated partners without EU funding.

Target sectors:multi-disciplinary across thematic areas: health and biomedical sciences; food and agriculture technologies; clean energy and mobility; environmental and climate sciences; physics and astronomy; advanced materials; social sciences and humanities; cross-cutting digital/AI; and other areas as defined by applicants.

Expected project maturity:networking, capacity building, training, dissemination, establishment of long-term bilateral links and design of distributed research ecosystems; not TRL-driven research development. Projects focus on development, demonstration of cooperation models and internationalisation rather than fundamental laboratory R&D.

Indicative EU funding per project:around €1,500,000. Total topic budget: €7,500,000 (2027).

Number of stages:1 (single-stage call).

Success rates:not specified. Indicative number of grants (around 5) and expected competition suggest a selective process; exact success rate depends on proposals submitted.

Co-funding:no explicit co-funding percentage specified in topic. Projects are financed by lump sum contributions; applicants must justify the proposed lump sum and the work plan. Use of additional third-party or national funding for complementary activities can be described but must comply with Horizon Europe rules on multiple EU funding and cumulation.

Concluding summary:This Horizon Europe Bridging Actions 2027 topic seeks Coordination and Support Actions that use Europe's research and technology infrastructures as strategic assets to attract and retain top scientific talent worldwide and to strengthen international scientific cooperation. Funded projects will create and interconnect international scientific networks built around European infrastructures and their university partners; facilitate engagement between EU/Associated Country communities and excellent researchers outside the EU; develop a Choose Europe strategic direction to promote Europe and its infrastructures as destinations and partners; and enhance visibility and communication of infrastructures as world-class hubs. Consortia must include an ESFRI Landmark and/or ERIC as beneficiary, target students and researchers (with gender balance), partner with non-associated third-country institutions where relevant, and address one of nine thematic areas or a cross-cutting topic. Grants are awarded as lump sums under the HORIZON-AG-LS Lump Sum MGA, with an indicative contribution of around €1.5 million per project and an overall topic budget of €7.5 million. Applicants must submit a single-stage proposal via the Funding & Tenders Portal by 15 June 2027 and ensure compliance with General Annexes, lump sum guidance and the Council Recommendation on enhancing research security 1.