Uptake Acceleration Services

Grant Purpose and Target

Core Objective

The grant's core objective is to fund a project that will establish and manage a service to accelerate the uptake and exploitation of civil security research results. The project will act as a market catalyst, bridging the gap between research, innovation, and market deployment within the EU's security ecosystem.

Funding Organization

European Commission, under the Horizon Europe programme.

Target Recipients

This grant targets consortia with proven experience in technology development and innovation within the security sector. The call is open to any legal entity, but proposals must be submitted by a consortium that includes a specific composition of partners, notably at least two Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs).

Sector Focus

SECTOR-SPECIFIC: The grant is focused exclusively on the Civil Security for Society sector. The project will support the security ecosystem by facilitating the market uptake of security-related research and innovation.

Geographic Scope

Applicants must be established in EU Member States, countries associated with Horizon Europe, or specific non-associated third countries. Due to the topic's scope, legal entities from G7 member countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US) and countries with a relevant bilateral S&T agreement with the EU are exceptionally eligible for funding.

Key Filtering Criteria

• Type of Action: Coordination and Support Action (CSA).
• Project Scale: The expected EU contribution is approximately €5 million for a single project.
• Consortium: A consortium is required, including at least two Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs).
• Project Duration: The maximum estimated project duration is 5 years.

Financial Structure

Funding Range

• The European Commission expects to fund one project. The estimated EU contribution is around €5,000,000.

Co-financing

• This is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) with a funding rate of 100% of eligible costs. No co-financing is required from the beneficiaries.

Eligible Costs

Costs must be eligible according to the standard rules of Horizon Europe (as detailed in the Model Grant Agreement, Article 6). Eligible direct costs include:
* Personnel costs (for employees, SME owners, etc.).
* Subcontracting costs.
* Purchase costs (travel, equipment, other goods and services).
* Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP): This is optional. If included, the maximum amount per third party is €60,000, unless a higher amount is justified and necessary to achieve project objectives. The proposal must detail the objectives, types of activities, selection criteria, and amounts.

Ineligible Costs

Ineligible costs include, but are not limited to:
* Identifiable indirect taxes, including value added tax (VAT).
* Costs incurred during the suspension of the action.
* Return on capital and dividends.
* Debt and debt service charges.

Payment & Reporting

• Payments will be made according to the standard Horizon Europe schedule: an initial pre-financing, interim payments based on periodic reports, and a final payment.
• A percentage of the maximum grant amount will be retained from the pre-financing and transferred to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism (MIM).

Eligibility Requirements

Formal Criteria

• Consortium Composition: Unless otherwise provided in the specific call conditions, proposals must be submitted by a consortium of at least three independent legal entities. Each of these entities must be established in a different EU Member State or Associated Country. At least one of the entities must be established in an EU Member State.
• Additional Condition: A specific eligibility condition for this topic is the mandatory participation of at least two Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) as beneficiaries in the consortium.

Organizational Status

• Legal Entity: Applicants must be legal entities (e.g., public bodies, research organisations, higher education institutions, private companies, NGOs).
• Research and Technology Organisation (RTO): At least two beneficiaries must be RTOs, defined as non-profit organisations whose core mission is to conduct research and development activities in collaboration with public and industrial partners.
• Gender Equality Plan (GEP): Public bodies, research organisations, and higher education institutions from EU Member States and Associated Countries must have a GEP in place before grant signature.

Technical Expertise

Applicants must demonstrate:
* Proven experience in technology development and innovation in the area of security.
* Deep knowledge of the security ecosystem, including the needs of practitioners and the challenges of market uptake.

Exclusion Criteria

• Standard Horizon Europe exclusion criteria apply (e.g., bankruptcy, grave professional misconduct, fraud).
• Entities subject to EU restrictive measures are not eligible to participate.
• Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government controlled territories of Ukraine are not eligible to participate.
• Legal entities established outside Russia but with over 50% ownership by a Russian entity are not eligible.
• Specific restrictions apply to Hungarian public interest trusts established under Hungarian Act IX of 2021.

Application Practical Information

Deadlines

• Submission Deadline: 12 November 2025, 17:00:00 Brussels time (CET).
• Evaluation Period: Approximately 5 months from the submission deadline.
• Grant Agreement Signature: Approximately 8 months from the submission deadline.

Required Documents

• Application Form (Part A): To be completed online in the submission system. Includes administrative data about the participants and the summarized budget.
• Technical Description (Part B): A narrative description of the project to be uploaded as a PDF. The page limit for a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) is 30 pages.
• Annex on Financial Support to Third Parties: Required if the project plans to provide FSTP.
• Information on Security Practitioners Template: An additional document to be filled in.

Application Process

• Proposals must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
• The submission process is a single-stage procedure.
• The consortium coordinator is responsible for the submission of the proposal on behalf of all participants.

Support

The funded project will establish a service to provide support to the civil security community. The types of support to be offered include:
* Funding & procurement guidance
* Market research and analysis
* Proof of concept development (for TRL 2-4)
* Technology validation support (e.g., lab testing, AI compliance, ethical assessment)
* Investor search and venture building
* Tech and entrepreneurial skills development (training)

Post-Award Obligations

• Project Duration: The maximum estimated duration is 5 years.
• Reporting: Beneficiaries must submit periodic technical and financial reports as specified in the Grant Agreement.
• Deliverables: A detailed Data Management Plan (DMP) and a Plan for Dissemination, Exploitation, and Communication are mandatory deliverables within the first 6 months.
• Sustainability: The project must identify and describe options for the sustainability of its services beyond the project's lifetime.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals are evaluated and scored against three main criteria. The threshold for each individual criterion is 3 out of 5, and the overall threshold is 10 out of 15.

Scoring Factors

1. Excellence (Threshold: 3/5)

   • Clarity and pertinence of the project’s objectives in relation to the topic.
   • Quality of the proposed coordination and support measures.
   • Soundness of the proposed methodology, including the implementation of appropriate open science practices.

2. Impact (Threshold: 3/5)

   • Credibility of the pathways to achieve the expected outcomes and impacts specified in the work programme.
   • Likely scale and significance of the project's contributions to enhancing innovation uptake in the civil security sector.
   • Suitability and quality of the measures to maximise expected outcomes, as detailed in the 'plan for the dissemination and exploitation including communication activities'.

3. Quality and efficiency of the implementation (Threshold: 3/5)

   • Quality and effectiveness of the work plan, including the assessment of risks and appropriateness of resources.
   • Capacity and role of each participant, and the extent to which the consortium as a whole brings together the necessary expertise.

Innovation & Impact

Proposals must detail how the project will deliver the expected outcomes, which include:
* Better valorisation of EU-funded civil security research results.
* Increased uptake of research outcomes by security practitioners, industry (including SMEs), and policymakers.
* Identification and promotion of successful uptake cases and best practices.
* Improved coordination between national and EU-level security research, innovation, and funding.
A key aspect is the plan for the sustainability of the services beyond the project's lifetime, aiming to create a self-sustaining mechanism.

Project Quality

Methodology must be sound, describing the coordination and support measures clearly. The work plan must be effective, with a robust risk assessment and appropriate allocation of resources (person-months) to work packages. The proposal must describe the services to be provided, its governance structure, team expertise, and KPIs for measuring success.

Strategic Fit

The project must align with the objectives of the 'Strengthened Security Research and Innovation' destination. Proposals should:
* Build upon outcomes of previous initiatives (e.g., iProcureNet, Horizon Results Booster, etc.).
* Collaborate with other relevant networks like the Community for European Research and Innovation for Security (CERIS), National Contact Points (NCPs), and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN).

Cross-cutting Themes

• Gender Dimension: The integration of sex and gender analysis in the research and innovation content should be addressed, but only if it is relevant to the project's objectives.
• Open Science: Proposals must describe how appropriate open science practices (e.g., open access to publications, FAIR data management) are implemented as part of the methodology.

Compliance and Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

• Ethics: Projects must adhere to the highest ethical standards, including the principles of research integrity as outlined in the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. An ethics self-assessment is a mandatory part of the proposal.
• Data Protection: All processing of personal data must comply with applicable EU and national law, in particular the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
• Security: Projects must comply with applicable security rules, including those on handling classified information (EUCI) and potential misuse of research results. A security self-assessment is required.

IP Policy

• Standard Horizon Europe rules on Intellectual Property Rights apply, as outlined in the Model Grant Agreement. Beneficiaries retain ownership of the results they generate.
• Key obligations include protecting results where appropriate and exploiting them, in particular within the EU.
• Open access to scientific publications is mandatory. Open access to research data is required under the principle 'as open as possible, as closed as necessary'.

Unique Aspects

• Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP): The project has the option to provide grants to third parties, with a standard maximum of €60,000 per party. This must be detailed in the proposal.
• Building on Past Work: Proposals must explicitly consider and build upon previous relevant research and initiatives.
• Sustainability Plan: A critical component of the proposal is a credible plan for how the acceleration service will become self-sustaining after the grant funding ends.
• Exceptional Eligibility for Funding: Legal entities from G7 countries and countries with a relevant bilateral S&T agreement with the Union are exceptionally eligible for funding under this topic.

Industry-Specific Rules

• The project operates within the civil security domain. While no unique sector-specific legal frameworks are mentioned beyond standard Horizon Europe security protocols, applicants must demonstrate a deep understanding of this ecosystem, including its specific challenges related to market fragmentation, public procurement complexities, and standardisation processes.