Standardisation landscape analyses tool (CSA)

The Horizon Europe program has issued a grant opportunity under the call HORIZON-CL4, aimed at developing a standardization landscape analysis tool. This initiative falls within the Coordination and Support Actions framework and is designed to assist all actors in the Research and Innovation ecosystem by creating a tool that identifies and analyzes relevant existing standards. Eligible applicants for this grant include industry stakeholders, academia, and standard development organizations, forming a consortium of experts. The grant focuses on promoting collaboration among diverse stakeholders in the field of standardization, addressing fragmentation and ensuring that relevant standards are accessible to R&I actors. The geographic scope includes EU member states and Horizon Europe-associated countries, with provisions for participation from non-EU countries. The targeted sectors encompass digital technologies, materials, and the dual transition towards green and digital initiatives. This grant operates on a lump-sum budget model, with the specific budget for the identified topic set at €1,000,000. The indicative timeline indicates an opening date for submission on May 22, 2025, and a final submission deadline on September 23, 2025. The application process is a single-stage open call, meaning applicants will submit their proposals electronically within the designated timeframe. The successful implementation of this project aims to create a comprehensive tool that not only analyzes the existing standards landscape but also improves the valorization mechanisms for R&I results. This aligns with various EU policy agendas, such as the European Green Deal and the New Industrial Strategy for Europe, highlighting the importance of standards in ensuring safety, functionality, and interoperability of products in the European Single Market. The grant also recognizes the need for structured information dissemination regarding the standardization landscape, aiming to facilitate better decision-making among stakeholders and enhance the overall effectiveness of R&I activities. The absence of a centralized database has been identified as a significant barrier for researchers trying to access crucial standardization information efficiently. The opportunity emphasizes the importance of aligning developed tools with international standards and ensures that the project is handled by a consortium that includes diverse expert representatives from relevant fields. This approach aims to foster broader acceptance and compliance with regulatory frameworks, ultimately benefiting the market relevance of research and innovation results. Overall, this Horizon Europe funding opportunity is focused on addressing the challenges in the standardization landscape by developing a robust, open-access analytical tool that enhances collaboration and accessibility to essential standards for the R&I ecosystem.

The EU's Horizon Europe program is offering a grant opportunity, specifically the HORIZON-CL4 call, focused on developing a "Standardisation landscape analyses tool (CSA)". This call falls under the INDUSTRY (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01) category and aims to support all actors in the Research and Innovation (R&I) ecosystem by creating a tool that identifies relevant existing standards. The tool should enable R&I actors to consider the existing standards landscape as a key input when planning their R&I project activities, thereby avoiding reinventing the wheel. It should also include mechanisms to keep the standards up-to-date automatically as far as possible. The primary goal is to provide an information tool on the standardisation landscape that is accessible to all R&I stakeholders. This tool should include a search instrument for standardisation deliverables at the national, European, and international levels. A key expected outcome is the improvement of valorisation mechanisms to ensure the market relevance and scalability of R&I results. The scope of this action recognizes the strategic role of standards in the Single Market, ensuring safety, functionality, and interoperability of EU products, and adherence to policy and legal objectives. It also acknowledges the role of standards in facilitating access to global markets. The call aligns with EU policy agendas such as the European Green Deal, Digital Decade, and the New Industrial Strategy for Europe. Future Commission actions, including the implementation of legal frameworks like the AI and Data Act, and the roll-out of recommendations on critical technology areas for EU economic security, will depend on these standards. The call emphasizes the need for structured information on the existing standardisation landscape to be accessible for R&I actors, addressing the current fragmentation, uncoordinated processes, and insufficiently understood financial impacts. It also acknowledges the diverse landscape of standard development organisations, which can lead to duplicated efforts and difficulties in navigating available standards. The absence of a centralised database hinders researchers' ability to efficiently access relevant standards. The developed tool should align with international and European standards, as well as with industrial and commerce consortia, to reduce the number of standards and have a broader acceptance. The project should be carried out by experts representing different stakeholders, including industry, academia, and standard development organisations. The type of action is a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] model grant agreement. The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline. The opening date for submissions is 22 May 2025, and the deadline for submissions is 23 September 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The budget for the HORIZON-CL4 topic is €1,000,000, with an indicative number of 1 grant to be awarded. General conditions for participation include: Admissibility conditions regarding 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 as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, including provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries. Other eligible conditions as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. Legal and financial setup of the grants, with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme. Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) details: Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including the Standard application form (HE CSA). Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including the Standard evaluation form (HE CSA). Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide, Lump Sum MGA, Call-specific instructions, Detailed budget table (HE LS), Information on financial support to third parties (HE), Information on clinical studies (HE), and Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?". Additional documents include: HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes HE Programme Guide HE Framework Programme 2021/695 HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764 EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants after logging into the Portal. To submit a proposal, applicants should access the Electronic Submission Service and select the appropriate type of action and model grant agreement. In summary, this Horizon Europe call seeks to fund the development of a comprehensive, open-access tool that provides a landscape analysis of existing standards relevant to the R&I ecosystem. This tool will help R&I actors make informed decisions, avoid duplication of effort, and ensure their projects align with current regulatory frameworks and international standards. The project requires a consortium of experts from industry, academia, and standard development organisations to ensure the tool effectively meets the needs of a diverse range of stakeholders. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the submission deadline is September 23, 2025.

Eligible Applicant Types:The eligible applicant types include industry, academia, and standard development organisations. The project should be carried out by experts representing different stakeholders from these areas.

Funding Type:The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (CSA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. The eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Consortium Requirement:The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. The project should be carried out by experts representing different stakeholders covering industry, academia and standard development organisations.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The geographic eligibility is described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 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. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector:The target sector is industry, specifically focusing on standardisation, research and innovation (R&I), digital technologies, materials, and twin transition (digital and green transition).

Mentioned Countries:The opportunity is within the context of the European Single Market and mentions EU and non-EU associated countries.

Project Stage:The project stage is focused on development and implementation, specifically creating a landscape analysis tool and improving valorisation mechanisms for R&I results.

Funding Amount:The funding amount varies depending on the specific topic within the HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01 call. For the HORIZON-CL4 topic, the budget is €1,000,000. Other topics within the same call have different budget allocations, ranging from €1,000,000 to €45,000,000.

Application Type:The application type is a single-stage open call.

Nature of Support:The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages:The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates:The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants is provided for each topic, which can be used to estimate the potential success rate based on the number of applications.

Co-funding Requirement:Co-funding requirements are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text, except for the HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64 topic, which is a HORIZON Programme Cofund Action, implying a co-funding element.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe funding opportunity, under the call INDUSTRY (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01), aims to develop a landscape analysis tool to support actors in the Research and Innovation (R&I) ecosystem by providing accessible information on existing standards. The goal is to enable R&I actors to consider the standardisation landscape as a key input when planning projects, thus improving the valorisation and market relevance of R&I results. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant under the HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) framework. Eligible applicants include industry, academia, and standard development organisations, forming a consortium of experts. The geographic scope includes EU member states and associated countries, with potential provisions for non-EU countries. The project targets sectors such as digital technologies, materials, and the twin transition (digital and green). The application process is a single-stage open call, with the submission deadline on September 23, 2025. The funding amounts vary by topic, with the specific topic HORIZON-CL4 offering a budget of €1,000,000 and an indicative number of one grant. Other topics under the same call have varying budgets and grant numbers. The initiative seeks to address the fragmented information landscape in standardisation, promote the use of state-of-the-art standards, and align efforts with international and European standards to foster broader acceptance and compliance with regulatory frameworks.