Pillar II: Piloting innovative approaches to support academic startups and spinoffs

The grant opportunity is associated with Horizon Europe under the call titled "Pillar II: Piloting innovative approaches to support academic startups and spinoffs," referenced as HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-04. This initiative aims to enhance the European Research and Innovation (R&I) system by providing support for early-stage academic spinoffs and startups to commercialize their research-based innovations. It has a total budget of €4 million, with plans to fund two projects at approximately €2 million each.

Eligible applicants include organizations such as science parks, technology parks, living labs, and innovation hubs which are focused on knowledge valorization and innovation support. These organizations must form a consortium of at least three independent legal entities established in different EU Member States or Associated Countries, with at least two of the entities based in EU Member States. The application process will require a single-stage submission through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The call opened on December 10, 2025, and the submission deadline is March 12, 2026.

Projects funded under this call will focus on implementing at least 20 pilot actions across Europe, enabling university spinoffs and technology startups to engage with end-users, industry, and societal actors to validate their solutions and enhance market readiness. The expected outcomes include upgrading services and guidance to better support the commercialization of innovations and shared practices for utilizing citizen feedback in product development.

The funding will be provided as lump sum grants under Horizon Europe’s simplified costs framework, which allows for greater financial predictability. While the call does not specify any mandatory co-funding requirements, applicants may choose to leverage additional resources to enhance their proposals.

This initiative aligns with the EU's Startup and Scaleup Strategy and emphasizes the importance of inclusivity and broad participation, with attention to promoting gender equality and addressing gender-specific challenges within the proposed projects. Proposals will be evaluated based on criteria detailed in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, and no specific success rate information for this call is available. However, the competitive nature of the opportunity, indicated by its budget and number of expected grants, suggests that securing funding may be challenging.

Overall, the Horizon WIDERA project seeks to strengthen ecosystems for academic entrepreneurship by bolstering the capacity of startups to transition from concept to market, thereby benefiting both the economy and society.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06, aimed at enhancing the European Research and Innovation (R&I) system. The call focuses on "Piloting innovative approaches to support academic startups and spinoffs" under Pillar II. The general objective is to strengthen ecosystems for knowledge valorisation and innovation by supporting academic startups and spinoffs, enabling them to benefit from end-user feedback and connections with industry and society. This aligns with the EU's Startup and Scaleup Strategy, fostering the market uptake of innovative solutions.

The expected outcomes of projects funded under this call include: Upgraded guidance and services for supporting early-stage academic spinoffs and startups to bring their innovative solutions to market, and tested and shared innovative valorisation best practices addressing the needs of early-stage academic spinoffs and startups for engaging with industry, societal actors, and end-users.

The scope of the call involves supporting academic startups and spinoffs by providing access to support services for commercializing research and bringing innovations to market. It emphasizes the need to go beyond technology validation and to test the desirability of products and services with a broader public, learn from citizen feedback, and adapt value propositions. The call encourages the involvement of various organizations such as science parks, technology parks, living labs, hubs, and practitioners in citizen engagement for knowledge valorisation. Effective practices should align with the fast pace of innovation and integrate skills and methods from different areas, including social sciences, humanities, arts, and design.

Proposals should address the following activities: At least 20 pilot actions across Europe enabling university spinoffs and technology startups to link up to end-users, societal actors, industry, and other stakeholders to boost market uptake and growth. Development of guidance and services, including methodologies and best practices to support spinoffs and startups, where testing and validating their innovative solutions to better fit society and the market is important.

Proposals should describe their target group, ensuring wide geographical coverage, inclusivity, broad participation, and accessibility. Attention should be paid to promoting inclusive gender equality and addressing gender-specific challenges. Projects are expected to contribute to the EU Knowledge Valorisation Platform and establish synergies with ongoing projects under the topic “Experimentation and exchange of good practices for value creation”. The expected project duration is up to 2 years.

The call specifies several general conditions related to admissibility, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, evaluation and award processes, and the legal and financial setup of grants.

Admissibility conditions include proposal page limits and layout, as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.

Eligible countries are detailed in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Other eligible conditions require applications to be submitted by a consortium of at least three independent legal entities, each established in a different Member State or Associated Country, with two of them established in a Member State.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes are detailed in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also described in Annex F.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021, with further details 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, as well as the model grant agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. The standard application form is HE CSA, and the standard evaluation form is HE CSA. Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide, Lump Sum MGA, and call-specific instructions. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027, HE Programme Guide, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, and various rules and agreements related to legal entities, financial capacity, and grant management.

The call provides a budget overview for the year 2026, with several topics listed under the HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA designation. These topics include both HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), with varying budget allocations, opening dates (December 10, 2025), deadlines (March 12, 2026), contribution amounts, and indicative numbers of grants.

Partner search announcements are available for those seeking collaborators, and the Funding & Tenders Portal provides access to the Electronic Submission Service.

Overall, this Horizon Europe call aims to strengthen the European R&I system by providing support and guidance to academic startups and spinoffs, facilitating their engagement with industry, society, and end-users to boost market uptake and growth. It involves a consortium of at least three independent legal entities from different Member States or Associated Countries, and the eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum. The call provides various resources and support services to assist applicants in preparing and submitting their proposals.

The opportunity is about strengthening the European Research Area by providing funding and support to projects that help academic startups and spinoffs succeed. It's about bridging the gap between research and the market, ensuring that innovative ideas from universities and research institutions can become successful businesses. The EU is investing in creating an ecosystem where these startups can get the guidance, resources, and connections they need to grow and compete on a global scale. This includes pilot programs, best practice sharing, and promoting gender equality within these projects. The goal is to translate research into real-world impact, boosting the economy and benefiting society as a whole.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the description, the opportunity targets organizations such as science parks, technology parks, living labs, hubs, and practitioners in citizen engagement for knowledge valorisation. Academic startups and spinoffs are the intended beneficiaries of the support services. The call is open to legal entities from eligible countries.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA). Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme.

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 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 Horizon Europe Associated Countries. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The target sector is innovation and knowledge valorisation, with a focus on supporting academic startups and spinoffs. This includes areas such as technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and engagement with industry and society. The program also integrates skills and methods from different areas, drawing also from the social sciences and humanities, and the arts and design.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity mentions EU Member States and Associated Countries. It also refers to non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have made specific provisions for funding participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Project Stage: The project stage targets early-stage academic spinoffs and startups, focusing on activities beyond technology validation, such as testing desirability, gathering citizen feedback, and improving value propositions. The project stage is therefore development and validation.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01: €2,000,000 to €3,000,000 (2 grants)
HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-02: €1,500,000 to €2,000,000 (6 grants)
HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-03: around €2,000,000 (3 grants)
HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-04: around €2,000,000 (2 grants)
HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-05: around €1,000,000 (2 grants)
HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-06: around €3,000,000 (1 grant)
HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-07: around €6,000,000 (1 grant)
HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-08: €1,500,000 to €2,500,000 (8 grants)

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 a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants for each topic is provided, allowing for an estimation of the competition level.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call (HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06) aims to enhance the European Research and Innovation (R&I) system by supporting academic startups and spinoffs. The call focuses on strengthening ecosystems for knowledge valorisation and innovation, enabling these startups to benefit from end-user feedback and connections with industry and society. It supports the EU's Startup and Scaleup Strategy by promoting the market uptake of innovative solutions. Eligible applicants, which include science parks, technology parks, living labs, and other relevant organizations, must form a consortium of at least three independent legal entities from different Member States or Associated Countries. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, and projects are expected to run for up to two years. The call includes several specific topics with varying budgets and expected outcomes, all geared towards improving guidance, services, and best practices for early-stage academic spinoffs and startups. The application process is a single-stage open call, with a deadline of March 12, 2026.