Pillar I: Accelerating open access and research assessment reforms in ERA
Overview
The Horizon Europe call HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01 seeks to promote effective and sustainable structural reforms within Research and Innovation (R&I) organizations, aligning with the priorities of the European Research Area (ERA). The program focuses on two primary areas: transitioning scholarly societies to non-profit open access publishing models and reforming research assessment systems.
This call has a total budget of €6 million, with expectations of awarding two grants ranging from €2 million to €3 million each. Applicants must form a consortium comprised of at least three independent legal entities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries, with a requirement that at least two are based in an EU Member State. The grant scheme includes a cascading grant component where beneficiaries must support third parties with a cap of €60,000 each, aimed at funding pilot actions and institutional reforms.
The application process will open on December 10, 2025, and close on March 12, 2026. Proposals must focus on one of the two areas: promoting equity in open science or reforming research assessment practices. Successful proposals should engage large stakeholder communities to ensure broad geographical representation and inclusivity, particularly addressing gender equality issues.
Area 1 targets the transition to open access publishing by supporting scholarly societies, focusing on eliminating author fees and ensuring broader access to research. Area 2 aims at systemic reforms in research assessment by promoting responsible evaluation practices aligned with the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA), favoring qualitative peer-review over traditional bibliometric indicators.
The call encourages synergies with other related funding opportunities and emphasizes the development of sustainable business models to support these transitions. Project durations can be up to three years, allowing ample time for the implementation of expected outcomes.
Overall, this call reflects the EU's commitment to fostering a more equitable and inclusive research ecosystem through structural institutional changes, aiming to enhance capacity-building, implement open science principles, and reshape how research quality is assessed across Europe.
This call has a total budget of €6 million, with expectations of awarding two grants ranging from €2 million to €3 million each. Applicants must form a consortium comprised of at least three independent legal entities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries, with a requirement that at least two are based in an EU Member State. The grant scheme includes a cascading grant component where beneficiaries must support third parties with a cap of €60,000 each, aimed at funding pilot actions and institutional reforms.
The application process will open on December 10, 2025, and close on March 12, 2026. Proposals must focus on one of the two areas: promoting equity in open science or reforming research assessment practices. Successful proposals should engage large stakeholder communities to ensure broad geographical representation and inclusivity, particularly addressing gender equality issues.
Area 1 targets the transition to open access publishing by supporting scholarly societies, focusing on eliminating author fees and ensuring broader access to research. Area 2 aims at systemic reforms in research assessment by promoting responsible evaluation practices aligned with the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA), favoring qualitative peer-review over traditional bibliometric indicators.
The call encourages synergies with other related funding opportunities and emphasizes the development of sustainable business models to support these transitions. Project durations can be up to three years, allowing ample time for the implementation of expected outcomes.
Overall, this call reflects the EU's commitment to fostering a more equitable and inclusive research ecosystem through structural institutional changes, aiming to enhance capacity-building, implement open science principles, and reshape how research quality is assessed across Europe.
Detail
The Horizon Europe call HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01 aims to promote effective and sustainable structural institutional changes within Research and Innovation (R&I) organizations, aligning with the European Research Area (ERA) priorities. This will be achieved through financial support to third parties via cascading grants, facilitating various capacity-building activities like tools, resources, guidelines, training, and quality assurance programs. The call falls under the Enhancing the European R&I system (HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06) and is a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA) with a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] Model Grant Agreement (MGA).
The call has a single-stage deadline model, with a planned opening date of 10 December 2025 and a deadline of 12 March 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.
The scope of the call requires applicants to select and clearly identify one of two areas, each designed to contribute to an ERA policy:
Area 1: ERA Action Applying equity in open science.
Area 2: ERA Structural Policy Reforming research assessment.
Proposals should develop activities outlined for the selected area and propose additional activities to achieve the expected outcomes. Synergies with other call topics are encouraged, such as linking non-profit open access publishing models (Area 1) with research assessment (Area 2), peer review (HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-02), or reproducibility in research (HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-08).
Proposed activities should engage large stakeholder communities, ensuring broad geographical coverage, inclusivity, participation, and accessibility. Proposals should describe their target group in terms of scope and size, paying particular attention to promoting inclusive gender equality and addressing gender-specific challenges.
The conditions for cascading grants are in Horizon Europe General Annexes Part B. The expected project duration is up to 3 years, potentially longer if justified.
Area 1: Supporting the transition of scholarly societies to non-profit open access publishing models.
The expected outcome is a more open, equitable, and inclusive research and innovation ecosystem, contributing to the ERA Action Applying equity in open science. Project results should lead to:
Transition of scholarly societies publishing activities into non-profit open access models, ensuring broader dissemination and equitable access by eliminating author fees.
Improved capacities, skills, and resources for scholarly societies to transition their scientific publishing venues into sustainable, non-profit open access models.
Greater awareness of and commitment to open science principles and practices among scholarly societies.
The scope supports the transition of journals/books/monographs of national and/or European scholarly societies into non-profit open access publishing models without author fees. At least two-thirds of the funding should be allocated as cascading grants to calls for pilot actions, targeting scholarly societies in all six Frascati fields of science and technology. At least one-third of the grants should be distributed to scholarly societies in the Humanities/Arts and Social Sciences. The cascading grants are expected to result in 20 to 30 pilot actions. Proposals should consider results from past and ongoing projects on non-profit institutional open access publishing and related infrastructures.
Consortia should include scholarly societies, research performing and funding organizations, libraries, non-profit scholarly publishers, and other research-relevant organizations. Proposals should address activities such as:
Developing business models to support sustainable non-profit open access publishing for scholarly societies beyond the project.
Producing guidelines, training materials, and lessons learned to support capacity-building for future transitions.
Launching open calls for grants supporting pilot actions for transitioning at least 30 scholarly societies across Europe to open access non-profit publishing models.
Area 2: Sustainable institutional reforms to improve research assessment systems.
The expected outcome is a systemic reform of research assessment through the recognition of diverse outputs, practices, and activities, contributing to the ERA Structural Policy Reforming research assessment. Project results should lead to:
Institutional changes in research performing and funding organizations (including accreditation and quality assurance agencies) favoring responsible research assessment systems in line with the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA).
Implementation of Action Plans of signatories of the ARRA.
Increased awareness and trust among researchers and research organizations regarding research assessment reforms.
The scope aims to support institutional changes, raise awareness, and assess progress in reforming research assessment, in line with the ARRA. The cascading grants are expected to effect changes in 40-50 institutions of different types and from different geographical areas. Proposals should build on past or ongoing relevant initiatives and projects at European or national level.
Project activities should involve actors such as higher education institutions, research performing and funding organizations, research evaluation agencies, accreditation and quality assurance agencies, notably those engaged in the CoARA approach. Proposals should address activities such as:
Launching open calls providing grants that support institutional changes for reforming research assessment.
Developing or reforming research assessment and evaluation criteria and processes in alignment with the CoARA Agreement commitments.
Implementing reforms to establish qualitative peer-review at the center of research assessment practices and moving away from traditional bibliometric indicators like the Journal Impact Factor and h-index.
Implementing institutional changes in research assessment that recognize the diversity of activities and roles of researchers.
Enhancing the recognition of diverse research practices as part of assessment systems (e.g., public engagement, citizen science, and science for policy).
Analyzing the outcomes of research assessment reforms and identifying relevant barriers and impact indicators, as well as quantifying the progress of action plans.
General Conditions:
Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.
Eligible Countries: Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Other Eligible Conditions: Applications must be submitted by a consortium including participation, as beneficiaries, of at least three independent legal entities, each established in a different Member State or Associated Country, with two of which established in a Member State.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: Described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Grants will be awarded to ensure a balanced portfolio covering different ERA policy areas, based on ranking and thresholds.
Submission and evaluation processes: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Beneficiaries must provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60 000 per third party, 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 forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates are available in the Submission System (Standard application form HE CSA).
Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations (Standard evaluation form HE CSA).
Guidance: HE Programme Guide.
Model Grant Agreements (MGA): HE MGA.
Call-specific instructions: Information on financial support to third parties (HE).
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 11. Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
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 HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01 is EUR 6 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution ranges from EUR 2 000 000 to EUR 3 000 000, with an indicative number of 2 grants.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-02 is EUR 9 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution ranges from EUR 1 500 000 to EUR 2 000 000, with an indicative number of 6 grants.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-03 is EUR 6 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution is around EUR 2 000 000, with an indicative number of 3 grants.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-04 is EUR 4 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution is around EUR 2 000 000, with an indicative number of 2 grants.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-05 is EUR 2 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution is around EUR 1 000 000, with an indicative number of 2 grants.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-06 is EUR 3 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution is around EUR 3 000 000, with an indicative number of 1 grant.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-07 is EUR 6 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution is around EUR 6 000 000, with an indicative number of 1 grant.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-08 is EUR 16 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution ranges from EUR 1 500 000 to EUR 2 500 000, with an indicative number of 8 grants.
Partner search announcements:
LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into the Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile.
Start submission:
The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.
Topic Q&As:
0 item(s) found
General FAQ
Get support:
Please read carefully all provisions below before the preparation of your application.
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
Research Enquiry Service ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.
National Contact Points (NCPs) get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (third-countries).
Enterprise Europe Network contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.
IT Helpdesk contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.
European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.
The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to drive structural changes within R&I organizations to align with ERA priorities. It offers funding for capacity-building activities through cascading grants. Applicants must choose between supporting open science or reforming research assessment, with a focus on inclusivity and broad participation. Consortia must involve at least three independent legal entities from different Member States or Associated Countries. The call provides detailed guidelines on eligible activities, expected outcomes, and application procedures, with a deadline of March 12, 2026. The call is structured around two main areas: promoting open access publishing models and improving research assessment systems, each with specific objectives and funding allocations. The overall goal is to create a more equitable, inclusive, and impactful research and innovation ecosystem in Europe.
The call has a single-stage deadline model, with a planned opening date of 10 December 2025 and a deadline of 12 March 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.
The scope of the call requires applicants to select and clearly identify one of two areas, each designed to contribute to an ERA policy:
Area 1: ERA Action Applying equity in open science.
Area 2: ERA Structural Policy Reforming research assessment.
Proposals should develop activities outlined for the selected area and propose additional activities to achieve the expected outcomes. Synergies with other call topics are encouraged, such as linking non-profit open access publishing models (Area 1) with research assessment (Area 2), peer review (HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-02), or reproducibility in research (HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-08).
Proposed activities should engage large stakeholder communities, ensuring broad geographical coverage, inclusivity, participation, and accessibility. Proposals should describe their target group in terms of scope and size, paying particular attention to promoting inclusive gender equality and addressing gender-specific challenges.
The conditions for cascading grants are in Horizon Europe General Annexes Part B. The expected project duration is up to 3 years, potentially longer if justified.
Area 1: Supporting the transition of scholarly societies to non-profit open access publishing models.
The expected outcome is a more open, equitable, and inclusive research and innovation ecosystem, contributing to the ERA Action Applying equity in open science. Project results should lead to:
Transition of scholarly societies publishing activities into non-profit open access models, ensuring broader dissemination and equitable access by eliminating author fees.
Improved capacities, skills, and resources for scholarly societies to transition their scientific publishing venues into sustainable, non-profit open access models.
Greater awareness of and commitment to open science principles and practices among scholarly societies.
The scope supports the transition of journals/books/monographs of national and/or European scholarly societies into non-profit open access publishing models without author fees. At least two-thirds of the funding should be allocated as cascading grants to calls for pilot actions, targeting scholarly societies in all six Frascati fields of science and technology. At least one-third of the grants should be distributed to scholarly societies in the Humanities/Arts and Social Sciences. The cascading grants are expected to result in 20 to 30 pilot actions. Proposals should consider results from past and ongoing projects on non-profit institutional open access publishing and related infrastructures.
Consortia should include scholarly societies, research performing and funding organizations, libraries, non-profit scholarly publishers, and other research-relevant organizations. Proposals should address activities such as:
Developing business models to support sustainable non-profit open access publishing for scholarly societies beyond the project.
Producing guidelines, training materials, and lessons learned to support capacity-building for future transitions.
Launching open calls for grants supporting pilot actions for transitioning at least 30 scholarly societies across Europe to open access non-profit publishing models.
Area 2: Sustainable institutional reforms to improve research assessment systems.
The expected outcome is a systemic reform of research assessment through the recognition of diverse outputs, practices, and activities, contributing to the ERA Structural Policy Reforming research assessment. Project results should lead to:
Institutional changes in research performing and funding organizations (including accreditation and quality assurance agencies) favoring responsible research assessment systems in line with the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA).
Implementation of Action Plans of signatories of the ARRA.
Increased awareness and trust among researchers and research organizations regarding research assessment reforms.
The scope aims to support institutional changes, raise awareness, and assess progress in reforming research assessment, in line with the ARRA. The cascading grants are expected to effect changes in 40-50 institutions of different types and from different geographical areas. Proposals should build on past or ongoing relevant initiatives and projects at European or national level.
Project activities should involve actors such as higher education institutions, research performing and funding organizations, research evaluation agencies, accreditation and quality assurance agencies, notably those engaged in the CoARA approach. Proposals should address activities such as:
Launching open calls providing grants that support institutional changes for reforming research assessment.
Developing or reforming research assessment and evaluation criteria and processes in alignment with the CoARA Agreement commitments.
Implementing reforms to establish qualitative peer-review at the center of research assessment practices and moving away from traditional bibliometric indicators like the Journal Impact Factor and h-index.
Implementing institutional changes in research assessment that recognize the diversity of activities and roles of researchers.
Enhancing the recognition of diverse research practices as part of assessment systems (e.g., public engagement, citizen science, and science for policy).
Analyzing the outcomes of research assessment reforms and identifying relevant barriers and impact indicators, as well as quantifying the progress of action plans.
General Conditions:
Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.
Eligible Countries: Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Other Eligible Conditions: Applications must be submitted by a consortium including participation, as beneficiaries, of at least three independent legal entities, each established in a different Member State or Associated Country, with two of which established in a Member State.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: Described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Grants will be awarded to ensure a balanced portfolio covering different ERA policy areas, based on ranking and thresholds.
Submission and evaluation processes: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Beneficiaries must provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60 000 per third party, 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 forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates are available in the Submission System (Standard application form HE CSA).
Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations (Standard evaluation form HE CSA).
Guidance: HE Programme Guide.
Model Grant Agreements (MGA): HE MGA.
Call-specific instructions: Information on financial support to third parties (HE).
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 11. Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
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 HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01 is EUR 6 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution ranges from EUR 2 000 000 to EUR 3 000 000, with an indicative number of 2 grants.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-02 is EUR 9 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution ranges from EUR 1 500 000 to EUR 2 000 000, with an indicative number of 6 grants.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-03 is EUR 6 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution is around EUR 2 000 000, with an indicative number of 3 grants.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-04 is EUR 4 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution is around EUR 2 000 000, with an indicative number of 2 grants.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-05 is EUR 2 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution is around EUR 1 000 000, with an indicative number of 2 grants.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-06 is EUR 3 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution is around EUR 3 000 000, with an indicative number of 1 grant.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-07 is EUR 6 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution is around EUR 6 000 000, with an indicative number of 1 grant.
The total budget for HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-08 is EUR 16 000 000. The opening date is planned for 2025-12-10, with a deadline of 2026-03-12. The estimated contribution ranges from EUR 1 500 000 to EUR 2 500 000, with an indicative number of 8 grants.
Partner search announcements:
LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into the Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile.
Start submission:
The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.
Topic Q&As:
0 item(s) found
General FAQ
Get support:
Please read carefully all provisions below before the preparation of your application.
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
Research Enquiry Service ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.
National Contact Points (NCPs) get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (third-countries).
Enterprise Europe Network contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.
IT Helpdesk contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.
European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.
The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to drive structural changes within R&I organizations to align with ERA priorities. It offers funding for capacity-building activities through cascading grants. Applicants must choose between supporting open science or reforming research assessment, with a focus on inclusivity and broad participation. Consortia must involve at least three independent legal entities from different Member States or Associated Countries. The call provides detailed guidelines on eligible activities, expected outcomes, and application procedures, with a deadline of March 12, 2026. The call is structured around two main areas: promoting open access publishing models and improving research assessment systems, each with specific objectives and funding allocations. The overall goal is to create a more equitable, inclusive, and impactful research and innovation ecosystem in Europe.
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Breakdown
Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include scholarly societies, research performing and funding organisations, libraries, non-profit scholarly publishers, higher education institutions, research evaluation agencies, accreditation and quality assurance agencies, and other research-relevant organisations. The call text specifies that consortia should comprise these types of entities.
Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]. The program also utilizes cascading grants, where beneficiaries must provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party.
Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. Applications must be submitted by a consortium including participation, as beneficiaries, of at least three independent legal entities. Each must be established in a different Member State or Associated Country, and two of which are established in a Member State.
Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may also be eligible if they have specific provisions for funding participation in Horizon Europe projects.
Target Sector: This program targets the research and innovation sector, specifically focusing on open science, research assessment, and institutional reforms within R&I organizations. It also targets scholarly societies and scientific publishing. The Frascati fields of science and technology are also targeted, including Natural sciences, Engineering and technology, Medical and health sciences, Agricultural and veterinary sciences, Social sciences, and Humanities and the arts.
Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU Member States and Associated Countries as eligible locations for the legal entities forming the required consortium. It also refers to non-EU and non-Associated Countries that may have specific funding provisions.
Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is focused on structural institutional changes, capacity-building activities, and implementation of reforms. This suggests a focus on development, validation, and demonstration stages, with the aim of achieving sustainable changes.
Funding Amount: The overall budget for the HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01 topic is EUR 6,000,000. The indicative contribution per grant ranges from EUR 2,000,000 to EUR 3,000,000. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party via cascading grants is EUR 60,000.
Application Type: The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process.
Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants. They will also provide financial support to third parties through cascading grants. The program also supports capacity-building activities, provision of tools, resources, guidelines, training, and quality assurance programmes, which can be considered non-monetary services.
Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.
Success Rates: Based on the budget overview, the HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01 call aims to award 2 grants.
Co-funding Requirement: The document does not explicitly state a co-funding requirement from the applicant.
Summary:
This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01, aims to drive effective and sustainable structural changes within Research and Innovation (R&I) organizations, aligning with the European Research Area (ERA) priorities. The call focuses on accelerating open access and reforming research assessment practices. It provides funding to support capacity-building activities, tools, resources, guidelines, training, and quality assurance programs.
Applicants must form a consortium of at least three independent legal entities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries. They must select one of two key areas: either promoting equity in open science or reforming research assessment. Projects should aim for broad geographical coverage, inclusivity, and accessibility, with a focus on promoting gender equality.
The funding is provided through grants, with successful beneficiaries expected to further distribute a portion of the funds as cascading grants (up to EUR 60,000 per third party) to support pilot actions and institutional changes. The expected project duration is up to three years.
Area 1 focuses on supporting scholarly societies in transitioning to non-profit open access publishing models, eliminating author fees and ensuring broader dissemination of research. Area 2 aims to support institutional reforms in research assessment systems, aligning with the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA) and promoting qualitative peer review.
The call aims to foster a more open, equitable, and inclusive research and innovation ecosystem, driving systemic reform in research assessment and promoting greater awareness and commitment to open science principles.
Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]. The program also utilizes cascading grants, where beneficiaries must provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party.
Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. Applications must be submitted by a consortium including participation, as beneficiaries, of at least three independent legal entities. Each must be established in a different Member State or Associated Country, and two of which are established in a Member State.
Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may also be eligible if they have specific provisions for funding participation in Horizon Europe projects.
Target Sector: This program targets the research and innovation sector, specifically focusing on open science, research assessment, and institutional reforms within R&I organizations. It also targets scholarly societies and scientific publishing. The Frascati fields of science and technology are also targeted, including Natural sciences, Engineering and technology, Medical and health sciences, Agricultural and veterinary sciences, Social sciences, and Humanities and the arts.
Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU Member States and Associated Countries as eligible locations for the legal entities forming the required consortium. It also refers to non-EU and non-Associated Countries that may have specific funding provisions.
Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is focused on structural institutional changes, capacity-building activities, and implementation of reforms. This suggests a focus on development, validation, and demonstration stages, with the aim of achieving sustainable changes.
Funding Amount: The overall budget for the HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01 topic is EUR 6,000,000. The indicative contribution per grant ranges from EUR 2,000,000 to EUR 3,000,000. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party via cascading grants is EUR 60,000.
Application Type: The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process.
Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants. They will also provide financial support to third parties through cascading grants. The program also supports capacity-building activities, provision of tools, resources, guidelines, training, and quality assurance programmes, which can be considered non-monetary services.
Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.
Success Rates: Based on the budget overview, the HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01 call aims to award 2 grants.
Co-funding Requirement: The document does not explicitly state a co-funding requirement from the applicant.
Summary:
This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01, aims to drive effective and sustainable structural changes within Research and Innovation (R&I) organizations, aligning with the European Research Area (ERA) priorities. The call focuses on accelerating open access and reforming research assessment practices. It provides funding to support capacity-building activities, tools, resources, guidelines, training, and quality assurance programs.
Applicants must form a consortium of at least three independent legal entities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries. They must select one of two key areas: either promoting equity in open science or reforming research assessment. Projects should aim for broad geographical coverage, inclusivity, and accessibility, with a focus on promoting gender equality.
The funding is provided through grants, with successful beneficiaries expected to further distribute a portion of the funds as cascading grants (up to EUR 60,000 per third party) to support pilot actions and institutional changes. The expected project duration is up to three years.
Area 1 focuses on supporting scholarly societies in transitioning to non-profit open access publishing models, eliminating author fees and ensuring broader dissemination of research. Area 2 aims to support institutional reforms in research assessment systems, aligning with the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA) and promoting qualitative peer review.
The call aims to foster a more open, equitable, and inclusive research and innovation ecosystem, driving systemic reform in research assessment and promoting greater awareness and commitment to open science principles.
Short Summary
Impact This funding aims to drive systemic institutional transformation in the European Research Area by promoting open access publishing models and reforming research assessment practices. | Impact | This funding aims to drive systemic institutional transformation in the European Research Area by promoting open access publishing models and reforming research assessment practices. |
Applicant Applicants should have expertise in research governance, open science, and institutional reform, with the ability to form consortia and manage complex projects. | Applicant | Applicants should have expertise in research governance, open science, and institutional reform, with the ability to form consortia and manage complex projects. |
Developments The activities funded will focus on supporting the transition of scholarly societies to non-profit open access publishing models and implementing sustainable reforms in research assessment systems. | Developments | The activities funded will focus on supporting the transition of scholarly societies to non-profit open access publishing models and implementing sustainable reforms in research assessment systems. |
Applicant Type This funding is designed for consortia of research and innovation organizations, including scholarly societies, research institutions, libraries, and non-profit publishers. | Applicant Type | This funding is designed for consortia of research and innovation organizations, including scholarly societies, research institutions, libraries, and non-profit publishers. |
Consortium A consortium of at least three independent legal entities from different Member States or Associated Countries is required for application. | Consortium | A consortium of at least three independent legal entities from different Member States or Associated Countries is required for application. |
Funding Amount The total budget for this opportunity is €6,000,000, with individual grants ranging from €2,000,000 to €3,000,000. | Funding Amount | The total budget for this opportunity is €6,000,000, with individual grants ranging from €2,000,000 to €3,000,000. |
Countries The funding is relevant for EU Member States and Associated Countries, ensuring broad geographic representation across Europe. | Countries | The funding is relevant for EU Member States and Associated Countries, ensuring broad geographic representation across Europe. |
Industry This funding targets the research and innovation sector, specifically focusing on open science and research governance. | Industry | This funding targets the research and innovation sector, specifically focusing on open science and research governance. |
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