R&I Policy Support for Enlargement Countries

POLICY ENLARGE is a Horizon Europe cascade funding open call providing small grants to strengthen R&I policy making, capacity building and cross-border cooperation in ten EU enlargement countries. The open call has a total budget of €300,000, funds up to 45 projects across three instruments (joint regional innovation actions, collaborative uptake of results, and people-to-people mobility), and offers grants up to roughly €8,000 for project instruments and €5,000 for mobility awards with expected activity duration of about six months. Eligible applicants are organisations and individuals based in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine, with consortium rules requiring at least two independent legal entities from different enlargement countries for Instruments 1 and 2 and cross-country affiliation for Instrument 3. Applications must be submitted in English via the online form before the four cut-off dates starting 12 November 2026 and ending 3 May 2028, and each third party may receive at most one POLICY ENLARGE grant across the entire open call.

What it funds

Scope

Small grants to strengthen research and innovation (R&I) policy and capacity in EU enlargement countries, including joint regional innovation actions, collaborative uptake of results, and mobility/people-to-people cooperation activities.

Total budget:€300,000 in cascade funding, targeting up to 45 projects across three funding instruments.

1. 1Funding Instrument 1: Small Grants for Joint Regional Innovation Actions (up to 15 projects).
2. 2Funding Instrument 2: Small Grants for Collaborative Uptake of Results (up to 10 projects).
3. 3Funding Instrument 3: Small Grants for People-to-People Cooperation Projects (up to 20 mobility grants).

Who can apply

Eligible applicants are based in the Enlargement Countries:Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. Requirements differ by instrument: for Instruments 1 and 2 consortia must include at least two independent legal entities established in different enlargement countries; Instrument 3 supports mobility and people-to-people consortia and may include a hosting entity from an EU Member State or associated country. Secondees must be citizens or permanent residents of an eligible enlargement country.

Practical details

Expected project duration is about 6 months. Each third party may receive at most one POLICY ENLARGE grant across the entire open call. Proposals must be submitted in English via the online form before the relevant cut-off date.

Apply via the POLICY ENLARGE portal and read the full Open Call Terms and Conditions before applying: POLICY ENLARGE Open Call ¹.

Contact:policyenlarge.help@fundingbox.com

Footnotes

1. 1Full terms and guidance (eligibility, maximum grant per project, evaluation and submission rules) are available at the open call page: opportunities.getonepass.eu.

Key facts

Administrative and schedule details

Call identifier HORIZON-WIDERA. Project acronym POLICY ENLARGE. Full project title R&I POLICY support for ENLARGEment countries. Grant agreement number 101289627. Project start date 09 September 2026. Expected duration of funded activities 6 months. Total budget allocated to this Open Call €300,000. Deadline model multiple cut-off with recurring submission windows.

Submission portal:Submit via the POLICY ENLARGE online form at opportunities.getonepass.eu. All applications must be in English and submitted before the relevant cut-off date. Proposals cannot be modified after submission.

Cut-off dates (Brussels time):12 November 2026 17:00; 05 May 2027 17:00; 03 November 2027 17:00; 03 May 2028 17:00.

Funding instruments, expected number of awards and budget allocation

POLICY ENLARGE will support up to 45 projects across three funding instruments. The total available budget for the Open Call is €300,000. The project expects a flexible distribution of awards across cut-off dates and aims to fund at least one project per enlargement country where possible. Unused budget or places from one cut-off date may be transferred to subsequent cut-off dates.

Indicative maximum number of projects supported:up to 15 under Funding Instrument 1, up to 10 under Funding Instrument 2, and up to 20 mobility grants under Funding Instrument 3. Per cut-off date, POLICY ENLARGE expects to select up to 4 proposals under Funding Instrument 1, up to 3 under Funding Instrument 2, and up to 5 under Funding Instrument 3.

Eligibility and applicant requirements

General eligibility requirement:applicants must be based in one of the designated Enlargement Countries. The Open Call defines distinct consortium rules depending on the funding instrument. Applicants or participating third parties may only benefit from one POLICY ENLARGE grant across the entire Open Call; if the same third party appears in multiple selected proposals, only the highest-scoring proposal for that third party will be funded.

Eligible countries (Enlargement Countries):Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Georgia; Kosovo*; Moldova; Montenegro; North Macedonia; Serbia; Türkiye; Ukraine. Note on Kosovo designation: without prejudice to positions on status, in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

Eligible applicant types and consortium rules:Funding Instrument 1 and Funding Instrument 2: consortia must include at least two independent legal entities, each established in a different enlargement country. Acceptable entity types include companies (including SMEs and larger enterprises), research organisations and academic research groups, non-profit entities, Digital Innovation Hubs / European Digital Innovation Hubs, and other relevant R&I actors. Funding Instrument 3: consortia should include Researchers, Artists, or Entrepreneurs affiliated to independent legal entities established either in different Enlargement Countries or in an Enlargement Country and an EU Member State. For the mobility programme (Funding Instrument 3), secondees must be citizens of an eligible enlargement country or hold a permanent residence permit in an enlargement country. Hosting entities for Funding Instrument 3 may be based in any EU Member State and its Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) or Horizon Europe Associated Country.

POLICY ENLARGE partners and their affiliated entities, their employees, associates, and board members are excluded from participating as recipients of Financial Support to Third Parties under this Open Call if they were involved in project execution at any stage. Former employees and associates involved in execution are likewise excluded.

Activities that can be funded

The Open Call funds small grants with the following objectives:develop collaborative R&I projects and improve access to EU funding; strengthen R&I management and technology transfer capacity; support evidence-based policy reforms; support digital and green transformation activities; implement joint activities to support R&I, regulatory, or societal uptake of results; and implement people-to-people cooperation and mobility projects with and within enlargement countries.

Detailed question-by-question extraction

Eligible Applicant Types

Eligible applicant types depend on the funding instrument but, collectively, include companies (startups, SMEs, large enterprises), research organisations and academic research groups (universities, research institutes), non-profit organisations, Digital Innovation Hubs / European Digital Innovation Hubs, artists, individual researchers and entrepreneurs (as participants affiliated with eligible legal entities), and other relevant R&I actors. For Funding Instruments 1 and 2 the main applicants are legal entities established in enlargement countries; for Funding Instrument 3 participants also include individual secondees (Researchers, Artists, Entrepreneurs) affiliated to eligible legal entities. POLICY ENLARGE partners and their affiliated entities are explicitly excluded from being recipients of Financial Support to Third Parties under the Open Call.

Funding Type

Primary financial mechanism:grants (small grants / cascade funding). The Open Call distributes multiple small grants across three funding instruments including mobility grants.

Consortium Requirement

Consortium is required for most grant types. Funding Instruments 1 and 2 require consortia with at least two independent legal entities, each from a different enlargement country. Funding Instrument 3 requires participation of Researchers, Artists, or Entrepreneurs affiliated with independent legal entities established either in multiple enlargement countries or in an enlargement country plus an EU Member State. Therefore, single-entity applications are generally not applicable for Instruments 1 and 2; Instrument 3 may involve mobility of individuals but requires host and sending affiliations as specified.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility)

Geographic eligibility is limited to the enlargement countries listed above. For Funding Instrument 3 hosting entities can additionally be based in EU Member States and their Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. The call is targeted specifically at Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine.

Target Sector

This Open Call is sector-agnostic within the Research and Innovation policy domain. Target themes include research and innovation capacity building, technology transfer, uptake of research results, regulatory and societal uptake, digital transformation, green transition, policy support for R&I, and people-to-people cooperation. Suitable sectors therefore encompass research, innovation, ICT/digital, environment and green technologies, technology transfer and commercialisation activities, and policy research.

Mentioned Countries

Explicitly mentioned countries:Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Georgia; Kosovo*; Moldova; Montenegro; North Macedonia; Serbia; Türkiye; Ukraine.

Project Stage

Expected project maturity:early-stage to demonstration of collaborative R&I actions. Activities prioritise development of collaborative projects, capacity building, uptake of results, and short-term mobility — typically development, validation and early demonstration stages rather than late-stage commercial scale-up. Duration of participation is expected to be 6 months, indicating short-term action grants.

Funding Amount

The Open Call total budget is €300,000. The call supports up to 45 projects across three instruments. The Terms and Conditions document hosted on the application platform provides the maximum grant amount per beneficiary and per instrument; applicants must consult the guide for instrument-specific maximums and eligible cost categories. See the official Open Call Terms and Conditions for specific per-project maxima and budgets POLICY ENLARGE Open Call Terms and Conditions ¹.

Application Type

Application method:open call with multiple cut-off dates. Applicants submit via an online form on the POLICY ENLARGE platform. The call is not invitation-only; it is an open call with periodic cut-offs.

Nature of Support

Beneficiaries receive monetary support in the form of grants (financial support to third parties/cascade funding). In addition, successful projects can be expected to benefit from non-financial support indirectly through networking, capacity-building activities and inclusion in POLICY ENLARGE activities, although the primary modality described is monetary grants.

Application Stages

The selection process follows a single-stage submission per cut-off with evaluation after each cut-off. There are no explicit multi-stage application steps detailed in the scraped content beyond submission and evaluation; applicants submit full proposals via the online form and proposals are evaluated according to the Terms and Conditions. Therefore, the practical number of application stages is 1 for submission, followed by evaluation and selection.

Success Rates

No explicit historical success rates are provided in the available text. Indicative acceptance capacity: up to 45 projects overall across the Open Call. Exact success rates will depend on the number of submissions received per cut-off date and by funding instrument. Applicants should assume competitive selection given limited budget and instrument quotas.

Co-funding Requirement

The scraped content does not explicitly state a mandatory co-funding requirement. Applicants must consult the Open Call Terms and Conditions for details on eligible costs and whether co-funding or own contribution is required. The Terms and Conditions are the definitive source for budget, eligible costs, and co-funding rules POLICY ENLARGE Open Call Terms and Conditions ¹.

Templates and application structure

The online application uses a platform form. The scraped content instructs applicants that all mandatory sections must be completed and that the Terms and Conditions document contains the full rules, eligibility criteria, maximum grant amount, timeline, submission rules, and evaluation process. Applicants should download and follow the Open Call Terms and Conditions and any provided template forms on the platform. Typical required sections on the platform form (based on common cascade funding practice) are likely to include: project title and acronym; lead applicant legal details and declarations; consortium participant details; project summary and objectives; workplan and timeline (up to 6 months); description of activities and expected results; methodology and impact; budget breakdown and justification; ethics and data protection statements; CVs or short bios of key personnel; letters of support or partnership agreements where relevant. Exact field names and templates must be obtained from the application platform and the Terms and Conditions page.

1. 1Prepare: read the POLICY ENLARGE Open Call Terms and Conditions in full and check instrument-specific rules.
2. 2Form the eligible consortium following instrument rules (two independent legal entities from different enlargement countries for Instruments 1 and 2).
3. 3Register and sign in to the application portal: opportunities.getonepass.eu.
4. 4Complete all mandatory sections in English; attach required supporting documents and budget details.
5. 5Submit proposal before the chosen cut-off date; proposals cannot be modified after submission.
6. 6If selected, proceed with grant preparation and implementation for the expected 6-month activity period.

Restrictions, exclusions and special conditions

Applicants under EU restrictive measures are ineligible. Specifically, following Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, no legal commitments can be signed with Hungarian public interest trusts established under Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain. Other restrictions: since June 2024, the European Commission suspended direct bilateral financial assistance benefiting Georgian authorities; however, the project will support Georgian researchers under applicable regulations. POLICY ENLARGE partners and their affiliated entities are excluded from being recipients of Financial Support to Third Parties under this Open Call. One third party can receive no more than one POLICY ENLARGE grant across the entire Open Call.

Contact and further information

For detailed rules, templates, maximum grant amounts and instrument-specific eligibility consult the Open Call Terms and Conditions on the application portal: opportunities.getonepass.eu. For direct enquiries contact policyenlarge.help@fundingbox.com.

Reference:Support for R&I policy making in the EU enlargement countries. EU Funding & Tenders Portal listing and call data: ec.europa.eu.

Footnotes

1. 1POLICY ENLARGE Open Call Terms and Conditions and application templates are hosted at opportunities.getonepass.eu. This is the primary source for instrument-specific maximum grant amounts, eligible cost categories, co-funding rules, and application templates.

POLICY ENLARGE is a cascade funding open call under Horizon Europe that supports research and innovation policy making, capacity building, and cross-border cooperation in EU enlargement countries. The call operates through four cut-off dates from 12 November 2026 to 3 May 2028, with an overall budget of €300,000 and an expected participation duration of 6 months.[2][3]

Key facts

What the funding is about

The open call finances small-scale actions that help strengthen research and innovation ecosystems in enlargement countries, including collaborative R&I projects, uptake of results, access to EU funding opportunities, technology transfer capacity, evidence-based policy reform, and digital and green transformation.[2][3] The underlying policy objective is to improve R&I policy making, implementation, networking, and institutional capacity across the enlargement region.[3]

Who can apply

Eligibility is centered on organisations and individuals based in the enlargement countries. For Funding Instruments 1 and 2, applicants must form consortia with at least two independent legal entities established in different enlargement countries, and the participating organisations may include companies, research organisations, academia research groups, non-profit entities, Digital Innovation Hubs or European Digital Innovation Hubs, and other relevant R&I actors.[2] For Funding Instrument 3, consortia may include researchers, artists, or entrepreneurs affiliated with independent legal entities in different enlargement countries or in an enlargement country and an EU Member State, while the hosting entity may also be located in an EU Member State, an Overseas Country or Territory, or a Horizon Europe Associated Country.[2]

Eligible countries

• Albania
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Georgia
• Kosovo
• Moldova
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia
• Serbia
• Türkiye
• Ukraine

Important conditions and restrictions

1. 1Applications must be submitted in English through the online form before the relevant cut-off date, and mandatory sections must be completed.[2]
2. 2Proposals cannot be modified after submission.[2]
3. 3Multiple submissions for the same funding instrument and the same cut-off date are not allowed, and if this happens only the most recently submitted proposal is considered.[2]
4. 4Each third party may benefit from only one POLICY ENLARGE grant across the full open call, regardless of instrument or cut-off date.[2]
5. 5If the same third party appears in more than one selected proposal, only the highest scoring proposal involving that third party is funded.[2]
6. 6If a third party already received POLICY ENLARGE funding under a previous cut-off date, later proposals involving the same third party as a funded participant are ineligible.[2]
7. 7POLICY ENLARGE partners and their affiliated entities cannot participate as recipients, employees, associates, or board members in the financial support to third parties scheme, and former staff involved in project execution are also excluded.[2]
8. 8Applicants subject to EU restrictive measures are ineligible, including Hungarian public interest trusts and entities they maintain under Council Implementing Decision EU 2022 2506.[2]
9. 9Georgian applicants are subject to additional restrictions linked to the suspension of direct financial bilateral assistance to Georgian authorities, while support for Georgian researchers remains possible under the stated framework.[2]

Selection structure and delivery

The open call is designed to support up to 45 projects in total, with up to 15 projects under Joint Regional Innovation Actions, up to 10 projects under Collaborative Uptake of Results, and up to 20 mobility grants under People-to-People Cooperation Projects.[2] The call expects to select an indicative number of proposals at each cut-off date, and unused budget or available places may be transferred to later cut-offs, with the distribution across countries and cut-offs adjusted according to application quality and available budget.[2]

What applicants should know before applying

• The grant is designed as a small, fast, and targeted support mechanism rather than a large project award.[2]
• The funding is limited to short duration activities of about 6 months, so proposals should be tightly scoped and implementation ready.[2]
• Applicants should plan for co-financing because the EU contribution covers up to 80 percent of the budget.[2]
• Partnership design matters because the consortium rules differ across the three funding instruments.[2]
• The full Terms and Conditions document is the authoritative source for the detailed eligibility, evaluation, and submission rules.[2]

Overall assessment

This opportunity is most suitable for organisations in enlargement countries that can deliver practical, cross-border R&I policy support, collaborative innovation actions, or mobility and people-to-people cooperation activities in a short time frame.[2][3] The strongest applicants are likely to be those with ready-made partnerships, a clear policy or innovation objective, and a budget that can be delivered efficiently under lump-sum, small-grant conditions.[2]