Support to the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures

The Horizon Europe funding opportunity, specifically titled Horizon-INFRA-2025-01, focuses on enhancing the European research infrastructure ecosystem by providing support to the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). This call is currently open for submissions, with a single-stage application process having a deadline on September 18, 2025. The funding type falls under HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), awarded as a lump sum grant.

Eligible applicants for this opportunity include universities, research institutes, and other organizations capable of conducting research and coordination activities. The geographic eligibility primarily covers EU member states and associated countries, with some potential provisions for participation by non-EU/non-associated countries.

The objectives of the funding include improving the operational efficiency of ESFRI, updating its roadmap, reinforcing the visibility and impact of its actions, and aligning with EU priorities. The supported activities involve developing the ESFRI Roadmap, evaluating new project applications, enhancing ESFRI's analytical capabilities, and executing a communication and outreach strategy.

Funding amounts vary, typically ranging from 1 million to 8 million euros for CSA projects, depending on specific topics. Success rates are not explicitly mentioned, and co-funding requirements may not apply as the funding is provided as a lump sum.

The application process is described as single-stage, accommodating projects that focus on administrative support for ESFRI's governance. The submission requirements are outlined in the Horizon Europe General Annexes, which include specific conditions for proposal formatting and admissibility.

In summary, the grant aims to bolster the efficiency and global competitiveness of the European Research Area by coordinating priorities for research infrastructures. The initiative encourages participation from a diverse range of stakeholders, aiming to enhance collaboration and sustainability within the European research infrastructure landscape.

The EU funding opportunity is part of the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the Research Infrastructures 2025 call (HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01). It aims to provide support to the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). The funding is provided through HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (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 model. The opening date was May 6, 2025, and the deadline for submission is September 18, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of the projects funded under this opportunity include: enhanced efficiency, impact, and visibility of ESFRI strategy and actions; a better-structured and strengthened European research infrastructure ecosystem; reinforced global competitiveness of the European Research Area; coordination and alignment of EU and national priorities for research infrastructures; and impact assessment of ESFRI.

The scope of the funding opportunity is to provide administrative support to the ESFRI Chair and the ESFRI Executive Board, as well as to support ESFRI, its working groups, and other ESFRI bodies in various activities. These activities include: development and publishing of the ESFRI Roadmap and Landscape Analysis; effective evaluation of new ESFRI Roadmap applications and ESFRI project monitoring after 2026, using also external expertise; strengthening ESFRI’s analytical capacity, including through the use of external expertise in support of ESFRI policy and the ESFRI Roadmap processes; effective evaluation and monitoring of research infrastructures on the ESFRI Roadmap through appropriate ICT and analytical tools, using also external expertise; development and implementation of the ESFRI communication and outreach strategy, including organisation of ESFRI-led conferences and outreach events; fostering cooperation, exchange of experiences and good practices between the research infrastructures, their managers and stakeholders, as well as the funding bodies, including managing authorities of Cohesion policy programmes and policy makers; ensuring cooperation of ESFRI with ERA related groups and initiatives, with the EOSC initiative as well as with any other relevant initiatives, bodies and stakeholders at European or international level, including via the ESFRI Stakeholder Forum; calling on third party/ies to carry out an impact assessment of ESFRI taking account of suitable indicators proposed by ESFRI.

The project workplan should be flexible to adapt to changing support needs of ESFRI, and a mechanism with ESFRI should be foreseen to ensure optimal adaptation to ESFRI’s needs over the course of the project. All software developed should be open source, licensed under a CC0 public domain dedication or under an open source licence as recommended by the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative. Proposals could consider including the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) Support Services Directorate in their research infrastructure portfolio.

The 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 described 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. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project. 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 described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. The legal and financial setup of the grants is described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including standard application forms for HE RIA, IA, and HE CSA. Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including standard evaluation forms for HE RIA, IA, and HE CSA. Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (MGA) such as HE MGA, HE Unit MGA, Lump Sum MGA, Operating Grants MGA, and Framework Partnership Agreement FPA. Call-specific instructions, a detailed budget table (HE LS), information on financial support to third parties (HE), information on clinical studies (HE), and guidance on lump sums are also available. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025, the HE Programme Guide, the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, the Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions, rules for Legal Entity Validation, the EU Grants AGA, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and privacy statements.

The budget overview for the call in 2025 includes various topics with their respective budget, type of action, opening and deadline dates, contribution amounts, and indicative number of grants.

Partner search announcements are available for collaboration on this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests.

To start the submission process, applicants should click on the submission button next to the type of action and model grant agreement.

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal is managed by the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.

In summary, this Horizon Europe funding opportunity aims to bolster the European research infrastructure ecosystem by providing financial support for coordination and support actions related to ESFRI. The projects should focus on enhancing the efficiency, impact, and visibility of ESFRI strategies, fostering collaboration among research infrastructures, and ensuring alignment with EU priorities. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and successful projects are expected to develop open-source software and consider the inclusion of the Joint Research Centre in their research infrastructure portfolio. The call encourages participation from a wide range of stakeholders, including policymakers, funding bodies, and the scientific community, to contribute to the long-term sustainability and global competitiveness of the European Research Area.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated but can be inferred to include entities capable of conducting research and coordination activities, such as universities, research institutes, and possibly other organizations with relevant expertise. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium. The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) is mentioned, suggesting SMEs are also relevant.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily grant-based, specifically HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to favor consortia, as the Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium. Partner search tools are highlighted, suggesting that collaborative proposals are encouraged.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic eligibility includes EU member states and associated countries. The documentation mentions that non-EU/non-Associated Countries may have specific provisions for funding, indicating that some third-country participation is possible.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is research infrastructures, with a focus on enhancing the European research infrastructure ecosystem. Specific areas mentioned include support for the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), and related technological and service developments.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on the European Research Area (ERA), EU member states, and associated countries. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries are mentioned as potentially eligible under specific provisions.

Project Stage: The project stages vary depending on the specific action type. Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) typically support networking, coordination, and dissemination, suggesting a focus on development and implementation. Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) support research and development activities, suggesting a focus on research, development, and demonstration.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary widely depending on the specific topic and action type:
HORIZON-CSA: Generally ranges from 1,000,000 to 8,000,000 EUR, with some topics reaching 16,500,000 EUR.
HORIZON-RIA: Ranges from 3,000,000 to 15,000,000 EUR, with some topics reaching 37,500,000 to 45,000,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of lump sum grants to cover eligible costs.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight into the potential competitiveness.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding requirements are not explicitly mentioned in the scraped content.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call focuses on Research Infrastructures (HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01) and aims to enhance the European research infrastructure ecosystem through various Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) and Research and Innovation Actions (RIA). The call supports the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and its activities, including the development of roadmaps, evaluation of new projects, and strengthening analytical and communication capacities. The call also targets the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and related technological and service developments. Eligible applicants include universities, research institutes, SMEs, and other organizations capable of conducting research and coordination activities. The funding is provided as lump sum grants, and the application process is a single-stage open call. The geographic scope is primarily EU member states and associated countries, with potential participation from non-EU/non-associated countries under specific provisions. The call encourages consortia and collaborative proposals, with the Joint Research Centre (JRC) potentially participating as a member. The overall goal is to improve the efficiency, impact, and global competitiveness of the European Research Area by coordinating EU and national priorities for research infrastructures.