Trusted frameworks for secure and efficient data sharing in EOSC (EOSC Partnership)

The Horizon Europe call identified as HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-02 focuses on creating trusted frameworks for secure and efficient data sharing within the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). The main objectives include enhancing research data sovereignty and facilitating lawful data sharing across EU member states and third countries with data protection adequacy recognized by the EU. The target audience for this initiative includes research organizations, universities, and institutes, as well as SMEs and large enterprises, all of which are eligible to apply either individually or as part of a consortium.

The funding structure is based on a grant mechanism classified as a Coordination and Support Action (CSA), with an overall budget of €10 million available for two projects, each expected to receive between €3 million and €5 million. The application process is single-stage, opening on March 10, 2026, and concluding with a submission deadline of June 16, 2026.

Proposals should emphasize activities such as developing frameworks for data sovereignty, demonstrating practical applications of these policies, establishing harmonized governance structures, and creating tools for data provenance. The call is intrinsically linked to the urgency of addressing the complex realities surrounding cross-border data sharing, particularly concerning sensitive data types like health information.

Funded projects are expected to produce key deliverables including comprehensive frameworks for data management aligned with EU and international standards, educational resources for researchers, guidelines for data sharing and utilization, tools for tracking data lineage, and the establishment of support structures for compliance with legal requirements.

Given that only two projects will be funded, the competition is expected to be fierce, with a likely success rate in the lower range of 10 to 39 percent. Additionally, there is no explicit requirement for co-funding; however, applicants should demonstrate the capability to effectively manage awarded funds, and synergies with existing EU initiatives are encouraged.

This opportunity is strategically significant as it plays a crucial role in advancing the governance infrastructure necessary for the operational functionality of the EOSC, thereby positioning Europe as a leader in fostering collaborative research and addressing the challenges posed by the increasing volume of cross-disciplinary data sharing. Successful applicants will be expected to contribute to the greater EOSC framework and will need to ensure that outcomes align with the principles of open science and FAIR data practices.

This is a summary of the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Call: Research Infrastructures 2026 (HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01), specifically focusing on the topic "Trusted frameworks for secure and efficient data sharing in EOSC (EOSC Partnership)" with topic ID HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-02. This call aims to foster research data sovereignty and enable secure, efficient, and lawful data sharing across borders, scientific disciplines, and with third countries deemed adequate by the EU.

The expected outcomes of funded projects include:

Countries, research communities, and institutions equipped with harmonized data sovereignty frameworks within EOSC, aligned with EU legislation and international agreements.
Improved mechanisms and solutions for effective control over sensitive data, enabling lawful data use and sharing across EU member states, scientific disciplines, and third countries with EU adequacy decisions.
Harmonized guidelines, support, and training for researchers and data stewards on applying EU and national legislation and international agreements for data access, sharing, reuse, licensing, and associated services within EOSC.
Increased interoperability with relevant solutions of other European data spaces for secure data management and processing.

The scope of the call centers around research data sovereignty, defined as the ability for data owners to effectively control data usage and sharing when necessary. The call acknowledges the challenges posed by the exponential growth of research data and increasing cross-disciplinary collaboration, particularly concerning secure and lawful cross-border data sharing. The goal is to remove barriers to data sharing while ensuring data sovereignty, thereby realizing the full potential of EOSC for trusted scientific collaboration.

Proposals should include activities such as:

Developing and implementing national, community, and/or institutional research data sovereignty frameworks, including policies for data sharing and access, harmonized with EU digital and data legislation, international agreements, and best practices from EOSC, related common European data spaces, and international data-sharing standards.
Demonstrating and validating concrete adoption cases of data sovereignty policies by national, community, or institutional actors, aligned with open science and FAIR data principles.
Developing harmonized governance frameworks to ensure smooth enforcement of data sovereignty policies.
Developing comprehensive data provenance tools to trace and verify the quality and lineage of data used in research, and demonstrating these tools through identified use cases.
Developing templates and guidelines for secure and sovereign data management, including template agreements on data sharing, publication, and reuse, and guidelines for licensing.
Developing guidelines for classifying critical data and services based on sensitivity and relevance to scientific communities and European policies, and for managing risks related to access to and preservation of such critical data and services.
Analyzing data categories and definitions across scientific disciplines, incorporating compliance with security requirements set out in EU and national legislation.
Developing recommendations for the establishment of a support center, linking with relevant national and thematic competence centers, focused on compliance of data management with EU and national legislation, and proof of concept of its integration and sustainable operation in the EOSC Federation.

Projects are encouraged to explore synergies with relevant EU initiatives and build on previous INFRAEOSC projects. This call implements the co-programmed European Partnership for the European Open Science Cloud.

The call specifies several general conditions related to admissibility, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, evaluation and award processes, and legal and financial setup. Key points include:

Proposal page limits and layout are described in the Application Form.
Eligible countries are detailed in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
There are restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
Evaluation criteria are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
The ‘Impact’ criterion will consider the coordination efforts with other relevant projects and the EOSC governance structure.
Beneficiaries must grant royalty-free access to their results to the EOSC Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the European Open Science Cloud.
Beneficiaries must deposit the digital research data generated in the action in a trusted repository federated in the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) in compliance with EOSC requirements.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

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. Additional documents, including the Horizon Europe Work Programme, Programme Guide, Framework Programme, Specific Programme Decision, EU Financial Regulation, and various guidance documents, are also listed.

The budget overview indicates that the HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-02 call has a budget of 10,000,000 EUR and will be implemented as a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA) with a single stage. The planned opening date is 10 March 2026, and the deadline is 16 June 2026. The indicative number of grants is 2, with contributions ranging from 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 EUR.

There are options for partner search announcements and general FAQs, and various support resources are listed, 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 the European Charter for Researchers.

In summary, this funding opportunity aims to bolster data sovereignty within the European Open Science Cloud by supporting projects that develop and implement harmonized data frameworks, promote secure data sharing practices, and align with EU legislation and international agreements. The call encourages collaboration and interoperability with other European data spaces and emphasizes the importance of FAIR data principles and open science. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and successful projects must grant access rights to their results to the EOSC Association and deposit research data in a trusted EOSC repository. The call is a single-stage process with a deadline of June 16, 2026, and a budget of 10 million EUR to fund approximately two projects.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the nature of Horizon Europe calls, eligible applicants can include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other legal entities carrying out research and innovation activities. Given that this is a coordination and support action, nonprofit organizations and other stakeholders involved in the EOSC ecosystem are likely eligible. The call text refers to "countries, research communities and institutions" as entities that will be equipped with data sovereignty frameworks, suggesting these are potential applicants or at least part of the target group.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]. 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: The call text does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, given the scope of the activities, which include development and implementation of frameworks at national, community, and institutional levels, a consortium is highly probable. The need for coordination across different countries and scientific disciplines also suggests that a consortium would be more suitable.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and third countries where the EU considers sufficient data protection is in place. 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 research infrastructures, specifically focusing on the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and data sovereignty. This includes areas such as open science, data management, digital and data legislation, and cross-border data sharing.

Mentioned Countries: EU Member States and third countries where the EU considers sufficient data protection is in place are mentioned. The EU and EEA regions are also implicitly referenced when discussing data generated and stored outside these areas.

Project Stage: The project stage is geared towards development, implementation, and validation. The call aims to develop and implement data sovereignty frameworks, demonstrate adoption cases, and develop governance frameworks and tools. Therefore, the expected maturity is at the development and validation stages.

Funding Amount: The budget for the HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-02 call is EUR 10,000,000, and the indicative grant size ranges from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 5,000,000.

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

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant, with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum contribution.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates cannot be determined from the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-02, aims to foster trusted frameworks for secure and efficient data sharing within the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) by supporting research data sovereignty. The call seeks to equip countries, research communities, and institutions with harmonized data sovereignty frameworks aligned with EU legislation and international agreements. It targets the development and implementation of policies, mechanisms, and solutions that enable effective control over sensitive data and facilitate lawful data use and sharing across EU member states, scientific disciplines, and third countries with EU adequacy decisions.

The call encourages proposals that include activities such as developing national, community, and institutional data sovereignty frameworks, demonstrating adoption cases, creating harmonized governance frameworks, developing data provenance tools, and establishing a support center for compliance with EU and national legislation. Projects should also explore synergies with other EU initiatives and align with EOSC Federation policies and standards.

The funding type is a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (CSA) grant, with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum contribution. The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and third countries with EU adequacy decisions. The call is a single-stage application process, with a planned opening date of March 10, 2026, and a deadline of June 16, 2026. The total budget for this call is EUR 10,000,000, with indicative grant sizes ranging from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 5,000,000, and it is expected that two grants will be awarded.