Areas of Intervention

Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence actions contribute to building research and innovation capacity for countries lagging behind (the widening countries). All organisations eligible in Horizon Europe can participate in Widening actions but only organisations based in Widening countries can participate as coordinators.

Relevant areas of interventions are:

• Teaming for Excellence: Create new or modernise existing centres of excellence in Widening countries through strategic partnerships with leading institutions abroad.
• Twinning: Enhance networking activities between research institutions of the Widening countries acting as coordinators, and top-class leading counterparts at EU level
• European Excellence Initiative (EEI): Engage with universities and empower them further to be actors of change in research and innovation. It raise excellence in science and in value creation through deeper and geographically inclusive cooperation in alliances of higher education institutions.
• Hop-on Facility: Allows research institutions from Widening countries to join already ongoing research and innovation actions under Horizon Europe Pillar 2 and EIC Pathfinder.
• Excellence Hubs: Strengthen regional innovation excellence, through innovation ecosystems in Widening countries and beyond, by teaming up, and creating robust linkages between academia, businesses, governments and civil society.

Eligible activities are described in the call conditions as well as in the General Annexes.

Deadlines runs throughout the year.

Grant size: Usually less than 5 million €

Useful links and
further information: 

Funding and Tenders portal – reference documents: Links to the following essential documents:

• Work Programmes containing all EU calls
• General annexes outlining general conditions such as admissibility, eligibility and award criteria
• Horizon Europe Programme guide explaining the Horizon Europe terminology and requirements
• Application forms
• Evaluation forms

Research Support Office (RSO) web page: access to:

• RSO newsletters (including signing up for newsletters)
• Case and best practise interviews with AU researchers
• Early draft work programmes (Sign up by contacting staff members from the “Strategy Team”)
• Info about RSO events and workshops

For support or questions regarding an application, please contact our Research Funding Advisors or send a mail to our mailbox.