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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Core objective: Develop core technologies for virtual worlds, emphasizing realistic and performant interaction and immersion, supporting a human-centric Web 4.0 and European industrial leadership.
Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: Research organizations, universities, SMEs, and larger companies, typically forming consortia for substantial research projects.
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC (Digital Technologies, Virtual Worlds, Photonics, AI, Extended Reality).
Geographic scope and any location requirements: Open to organizations from EU Member States and Associated Countries. Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Focus on virtual worlds core technologies (either multimodal interaction or innovative optics/photonics). Must propose a consortium and integrate Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) expertise.
Grant frequency and program context: One-time call for this specific topic, forming part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, implemented as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA).

Financial Structure

Total budget for this call topic: 43,000,000 EUR.
Expected number of grants awarded under this topic: 7.
Minimum grant amount per project: 5,000,000 EUR.
Maximum grant amount per project: 6,000,000 EUR.
Funding type: Research and Innovation Actions (RIA).
Specific conditions regarding the financial and legal setup of grants are described in Annex G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This includes details on eligible costs, financial reporting, and audit requirements.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type & Structure

Consortium required for application. This topic is implemented through a joint effort from the co-programmed European Partnership for Virtual Worlds and the Photonics Partnership, implying collaborative proposals.
Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks (as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes).

Geographic Location

Eligible to organizations from EU Member States (e.g., Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden).
Also eligible to organizations from Associated Countries, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may be eligible if specific provisions are made for making funding available, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Technical & Experiential

Projects must be Research and Innovation Actions (RIA).
Proposals must clearly identify and focus on either Area A (multimodal immersion combining Extended Reality with advanced technologies) or Area B (innovative optics and photonics technologies for projection, sensing, and perception in virtual worlds).
Must include effective contribution from Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines and SSH experts.
Expected to allocate tasks for cohesion activities with both the European Partnership for Virtual Worlds and the Photonics Partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-17.

Financial & Legal

Applicants must meet financial and operational capacity requirements, as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal Entity Validation is required.

Application Process

Application Submission

Application deadline: 2025-10-02 00:00:00+0000.
The submission session became available on 2025-06-10.
The submission procedure is single-stage.
Applications must be submitted via the Electronic Submission Service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
The application form specific to this call (Standard application form for HE RIA, IA) is available in the Submission System.
Proposal page limits and layout are detailed in Part B of the Application Form.
Once you confirm your choice of action type in the submission system, it cannot be changed.
Existing draft proposals for this topic can be accessed by logging into the Funding & Tenders Portal and selecting the 'My Proposals' page of the 'My Area' section.

Evaluation & Selection

Evaluation will use Standard evaluation form templates (HE RIA, IA) with necessary adaptations.
An indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Support & Resources

Comprehensive guidance is available through the 'Online Manual', 'Horizon Europe Programme Guide', and 'Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ'.
Specific inquiries can be directed to the 'Research Enquiry Service' or 'National Contact Points (NCPs)'.
Business advice, particularly for SMEs, is available via the 'Enterprise Europe Network'.
Technical support for the portal is provided by the 'IT Helpdesk'.
Assistance on intellectual property issues is offered by the 'European IPR Helpdesk'.
Guidance on standardisation in project proposals can be obtained from 'CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk' and 'ETSI Research Helpdesk'.
General principles for researchers, employers, and funders are outlined in 'The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment'.
A 'Partner Search' tool is available to help find collaborative organizations.

Evaluation Criteria

Project Quality & Innovation

Focus on developing core technologies for Virtual Worlds with an emphasis on better, more realistic, and more performant interaction and immersion.
For Area A proposals: Development and demonstration of novel applications for Virtual Worlds that combine several modalities and aim to provide seamless and more realistic immersive interactions, investigating novel scientific approaches or pushing the limit of existing ones to improve synchronization and integration of different modalities.
For Area B proposals: Address the development and integration of advanced, innovative, and high-performance Optics and Photonics technologies for display and sensing devices serving Virtual Worlds.
Solutions must demonstrate high-performance, excellent visual quality, high-quality user experience, and be sustainable.
Quality of integration, both from a user and technological perspective, is essential for broad adoption.
Solutions should leverage existing open standards and technologies in Extended Reality and contribute to ongoing standardisation work.
Applications should be tested and anchored in real-world environments, aimed at least one application domain.

Impact & Societal Relevance

Expected outcomes include improved multimodal immersion, better performance of microdisplays/sensing devices, and increased awareness, acceptance, and adoption of virtual worlds applications across sectors.
Proposals should guarantee privacy and rights of individuals and companies, and ensure secure and trustworthy interactions.
Consideration of EU values such as inclusivity, privacy, security, safety of users, protection of personal data, and diversity.
Focus on human perception and experience, from subjective, objective, and functional perspectives.
Must produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities through SSH involvement.

Implementation & Consortium Quality

Grants will be awarded to ensure a balanced portfolio covering the two described areas (Area A and Area B).
At least two highest-ranked proposals within each of the two areas will be awarded, provided they attain all thresholds.
Projects are typically expected to have an overall duration of 36 months, though other durations are not precluded.
Proposals must attain all thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory & Ethical Compliance

Solutions involving AI systems must be 'compliant by design' with the AI Act, addressing challenges such as accuracy, robustness, transparency, efficiency, and eliminating biases (e.g., gender, racial, social).
Proposals must ensure solutions are ethical, trustworthy, safe, and reliable.
Solutions must guarantee the privacy and rights of individuals and companies, and ensure secure and trustworthy interactions to protect personal data.
Proposals are expected to respect European values such as inclusivity, privacy, ethics, and inclusiveness.

Technical Standards & Policies

Proposals should leverage existing open standards and technologies in the domain of Extended Reality (XR).
Projects are expected to contribute to ongoing standardisation work.
For Area B (photonics), solutions must consider user comfort and integrate seamlessly into mixed-reality devices without increasing bulk or reducing comfort.
Technical solutions should be scalable to large volumes and cost-effective for mass adoption.

Cross-Cutting & Strategic Considerations

Effective contribution from Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines and SSH experts is a specific requirement to enhance the societal impact of research activities.
Proposals must allocate tasks for cohesion activities with both the co-programmed European Partnership for Virtual Worlds and the Photonics Partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-17, aligning with broader strategic initiatives.
Projects under this topic are integral to the EU's 'Apply AI Strategy' and will support the implementation of the 'GenAI4EU' initiative.
There's an expectation for developing industrial virtual worlds, smart communities, and 'citiverses' to empower public authorities and citizens.
Special attention should be given to proposals (whether Area A or Area B) that include transdisciplinary research to deliver and enhance uptake of suitable, accurate, ethical, and safe solutions.

Grant Details