Strengthening the potential of the EOSC for knowledge valorisation and industry-academia collaboration (EOSC Partnership)

The HORIZON-INFRA is a significant grant opportunity under the Horizon Europe program, specifically aimed at enhancing the capacity of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Federation for knowledge valorization and fostering collaboration between academia and industry. It is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) with a budget of €8 million, intended to fund two grants ranging from €2.5 million to €4 million each. The application process is single-stage, with submissions open from March 9, 2027, and a deadline of June 15, 2027. Eligible applicants include universities, research institutions, and various organizations that contribute resources to the EOSC Federation, emphasizing the need for collaborative consortia rather than solo applicants. Projects should focus on addressing barriers related to intellectual property and developing business models and best practices to facilitate the sharing of research results with the private sector. The initiative targets a broad audience, including deep-tech startups, SMEs, and academic spin-offs, with an emphasis on open science practices and FAIR data principles. The expected outcomes include improved frameworks for knowledge valorization, clearer legal conditions for accessing EOSC resources, and increased capacity for innovation. Applicants must comply with several requirements, including the commitment to grant access to results for non-commercial purposes and deposit research data in EOSC-compliant repositories. The success rate for applications is estimated at around 50%, based on historical participation, although past Horizon Europe success rates can vary widely. Overall, this call seeks to leverage the EOSC's extensive resources to translate publicly funded research into market-oriented solutions, thereby contributing to the EU's broader objectives of innovation and economic competitiveness.

This is a Horizon Europe call for proposals focusing on strengthening the potential of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) for knowledge valorization and industry-academia collaboration. The call, HORIZON-INFRA, falls under the Research Infrastructures 2027 call (HORIZON-INFRA-2027-01) of the Horizon Europe program. It is a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA) and utilizes the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] model grant agreement.

The call is forthcoming with a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is March 9, 2027, and the deadline for submission is June 15, 2027, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of projects funded under this topic include:

1. A better overview of the identified opportunities and barriers within the EU's current legal framework on intellectual property (patents, copyright, licenses, etc.) for researchers to valorize knowledge resources provided and/or processed in the EOSC Federation.

2. Improved capacity, stronger incentives, and better legal and technical conditions for organizations contributing resources to the EOSC Federation to valorize these knowledge resources and engage in open innovation practices and industry-academia collaboration.

3. Clearer frameworks and incentives for organizations contributing to the EOSC Federation to offer their resources to innovators, deep-tech startups, and startups emerging from academia.

4. Established channels within EOSC for organizations contributing to the EOSC Federation to promote knowledge valorization with the private sector, including SMEs and industry.

The scope of this topic is to support increasing and exploiting the potential of EOSC as a driver of innovation and a platform for researchers to develop new technologies and solutions that can be brought to the market. Knowledge valorization is highlighted as a key priority for the European Research Area, aiming to transform research results generated in the EU into products, services, and solutions that benefit society and contribute to economic competitiveness.

The EOSC Federation, which brings together knowledge resources from various research and data infrastructures across Europe, has the potential to facilitate knowledge valorization, open innovation, and industry-academia collaboration. Funded activities should aim to support the capacity of the EOSC Federation and its community to better valorize research results in line with the EU’s code of practice on intellectual assets management and standardization in the European Research Area.

A key element is clarifying the legal conditions to valorize knowledge resources within the EOSC Federation, addressing the challenges researchers face due to varying degrees of copyright protection. A better overview of requirements and more legal clarity are expected to incentivize researchers to valorize the knowledge resources of the EOSC Federation.

The effort should also consider the specific needs of different research communities contributing to the EOSC Federation, ensuring they can set better legal terms for knowledge valorization through appropriate choice of licenses. More guidance is needed to ensure that contributors can share their knowledge resources in the EOSC Federation with fewer legal strings attached.

Proposals under this topic should include the following activities:

1. Analyze opportunities and barriers emerging from the provisions of the EU’s current legal framework on intellectual property and relevant types of licenses that set the legal conditions for researchers to valorize knowledge resources in EOSC Federation.

2. Gather requirements and needs, develop and analyze potential business models and access schemes for innovators and start-ups in Europe to access and use resources available in the EOSC Federation.

3. Develop a number of case studies of identified EOSC stakeholders valorizing their results and/or establishing collaboration links with the private sector.

4. Map out and evaluate the possibilities of relevant types of licenses for knowledge resources to facilitate knowledge valorization and engage in open innovation and industry-academia collaboration.

5. Organize workshops, webinars and awareness-raising campaigns, and develop guiding material targeted at EOSC users and communities contributing to EOSC on how to facilitate and engage in knowledge valorization and industry-academia collaboration based on the knowledge resources of EOSC Federation.

6. Develop recommendations and best practices, based also on the case studies, for further development of the EOSC Federation to facilitate knowledge valorization and industry-academia collaboration.

To ensure complementarity and use of the latest EU guidelines and research results, proposals should build on ongoing and previous Horizon Europe-funded projects, including IP4OS, EU guiding principles for knowledge valorisation, Knowledge Valorisation Platform and code of practice for intellectual property management and standards. This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for the European Open Science Cloud.

The general conditions for this call include:

1. Admissibility Conditions:Proposal page limit 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 available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries as 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.

3. Other Eligible Conditions as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

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

5a. Evaluation and award:Award criteria, scoring and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

€5B. Evaluation and award:Submission and evaluation processes, with additions to the general award criteria, particularly regarding the ‘Impact’ criterion and the extent to which the proposed work incorporates coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and the EOSC governance structure. These are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award:Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants, including additional access rights for beneficiaries, requirements for depositing digital research data in a trusted repository federated in the EOSC, and eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) details are provided, including links to standard application forms, evaluation forms, HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (HE MGA, Lump Sum MGA, Framework Partnership Agreement FPA), call-specific instructions, detailed budget table (HE LS), information on financial support to third parties (HE), information on clinical studies (HE), and guidance on lump sums.

Additional documents include references to HE Main Work Programmes, HE Programme Guide, HE Framework Programme, HE Specific Programme Decision, EU Financial Regulation, Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statement.

The budget overview lists several topics under the call, including:

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-01-EOSC-01 - HORIZON-COFUND:Budget €40,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 09/03/2027, Deadline 15/06/2027, Indicative number of grants 1.

HORIZON-INFRA - HORIZON-CSA:Budget €8,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 09/03/2027, Deadline 15/06/2027, Contributions 2,500,000 to €4,000,000, Indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-DEV-01-01 - HORIZON-CSA:Budget €30,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 09/03/2027, Deadline 15/06/2027, Contributions 1,500,000 to €3,500,000, Indicative number of grants 9.

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-DEV-01-02 - HORIZON-RIA:Budget €20,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 09/03/2027, Deadline 15/06/2027, Contributions 2,000,000 to €5,000,000, Indicative number of grants 4.

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-DEV-01-03 - HORIZON-RIA:Budget €29,500,000, Single-stage, Opening 09/03/2027, Deadline 15/06/2027, Contributions 3,000,000 to €4,500,000, Indicative number of grants 8.

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-SERV-01-01 - HORIZON-RIA:Budget €105,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 09/03/2027, Deadline 15/06/2027, Indicative number of grants 3.

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-SERV-01-02 - HORIZON-RIA:Budget €35,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 09/03/2027, Deadline 15/06/2027, Indicative number of grants 6.

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-SERV-01-03 - HORIZON-RIA:Budget €12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 09/03/2027, Deadline 15/06/2027, Indicative number of grants 4.

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-TECH-01-01 - HORIZON-RIA:Budget €30,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 09/03/2027, Deadline 15/06/2027, Contributions 10,000,000 to €15,000,000, Indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-TECH-01-02 - HORIZON-RIA:Budget €30,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 09/03/2027, Deadline 15/06/2027, Contributions 7,000,000 to €12,000,000, Indicative number of grants 3.

Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants after logging into the portal.

The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.

A list of resources for support is provided, including the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk, ETSI Research Helpdesk, and Partner Search.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to enhance the EOSC's role in driving innovation by addressing legal and practical barriers to knowledge valorization and promoting collaboration between research and industry. It seeks to create a more transparent and accessible framework for researchers and businesses to leverage the resources of the EOSC Federation, ultimately contributing to the EU's economic competitiveness and societal benefits. The call encourages proposals that analyze existing frameworks, develop business models, provide case studies, and offer guidance to facilitate knowledge valorization within the EOSC ecosystem.

Eligible Applicant Types:The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated but can be inferred to include researchers, research organizations, scientific services providers, industry, SMEs, deep-tech startups, and startups emerging from academia. The call targets organizations contributing to the EOSC Federation.

Funding Type:The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under the HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA). There are also HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA).

Consortium Requirement:The opportunity does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, given the scope and nature of the activities, a consortium is highly probable.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and countries associated with the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may also be eligible if they have specific provisions for funding participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector:The target sector is research infrastructures, specifically those related to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), knowledge valorisation, open innovation, intellectual property management, and industry-academia collaboration. It also includes deep-tech and startups.

Mentioned Countries:The opportunity mentions the EU, Member States, and non-EU/non-Associated Countries. It also refers to Europe in general.

Project Stage:The project stage is focused on development, coordination, and support actions. It aims to improve existing frameworks, develop business models, and promote knowledge valorisation, suggesting a stage leaning towards validation and demonstration rather than basic research.

Funding Amount:The funding amount varies depending on the specific topic within the call:

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-01-EOSC-01:around €40,000,000

HORIZON-INFRA:€2,500,000 to €4,000,000

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-DEV-01-01:€1,500,000 to €3,500,000

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-DEV-01-02:€2,000,000 to €5,000,000

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-DEV-01-03:€3,000,000 to €4,500,000

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-SERV-01-01:around €35,000,000

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-SERV-01-02:around €6,000,000

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-SERV-01-03:around €3,000,000

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-TECH-01-01:€10,000,000 to €15,000,000

HORIZON-INFRA-2027-TECH-01-02:€7,000,000 to €12,000,000

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

Co-funding Requirement:Co-funding is not explicitly mentioned as a requirement, but it is possible that some actions, particularly the HORIZON-COFUND actions, may require co-funding.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call focuses on strengthening the potential of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) for knowledge valorisation and industry-academia collaboration. The call aims to support projects that can improve the legal and technical conditions for researchers and organizations to valorise knowledge resources within the EOSC Federation. This includes analyzing opportunities and barriers in the EU's intellectual property framework, developing business models for innovators and startups, creating case studies of successful valorisation efforts, mapping relevant licenses, and organizing workshops and awareness campaigns. The call is structured around several topics, each with a specific budget and expected outcomes, ranging from coordination and support actions to research and innovation actions. Eligible applicants include researchers, research organizations, scientific services providers, industry, SMEs, and startups from EU Member States and associated countries. The funding is provided as lump sum grants, and the application process is a single-stage submission. The overall goal is to transform research results into products, services, and solutions that benefit society and contribute to economic competitiveness within the European Research Area.