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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This Coordination and Support Action (CSA) aims to align stakeholders for a large-scale pilot developing end-to-end infrastructures integrating device, network computing, and communication capabilities. It targets a consortium of diverse legal entities, including businesses (software, hardware, telcos, AI, cloud providers, middleware stack providers), research organizations, and other key stakeholders, operating at a scale capable of coordinating a large-scale pilot. This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant. The geographic scope includes European Union Member States, Iceland, Norway, and associated countries. Key filtering criteria are: must be a consortium, focus on digital infrastructure/telecom/data economy, capable of large-scale coordination, and legally established in eligible countries with no non-eligible country control. This grant is part of Horizon Europe (2021-2027), specifically the 'Digital, Industry and Space' Work Programme for 2025, Destination 3.

Financial Structure

Budget Range: The total estimated budget for this specific topic is 2500000.0 EUR.
Minimum Grant Amount: 1800000.0 EUR per project.
Maximum Grant Amount: 2500000.0 EUR per project.
Currency: EUR.
Funding Rate: As a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) under Horizon Europe, eligible direct costs are typically funded at 100.0%. Indirect costs are covered by a flat rate of 25% of direct costs.
Expected Grants: Only 1 grant is expected to be awarded for this topic.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Organization Types

Legal entities established in EU Member States, Iceland, or Norway.
Legal entities established in Associated Countries.
Exclusion Criteria: Entities established in an eligible country but directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or non-eligible country entity are not eligible to participate, for reasons of Union strategic interests and security.

Geographic Location

Organization must be based in one of the eligible countries: EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, or associated countries.

Partnership Requirements

Participation as a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) inherently requires a consortium. The project is expected to 'bring together' and 'coordinate' different stakeholder communities.

Technical Expertise

Expertise in device, network computing, and communication capabilities.
Expertise in software, hardware, telcos, AI, and cloud technologies.
Knowledge of open-source building blocks such as Sylva, Anuket, Nephio, and CAMARA.

Application Process

Application Process Timeline

Submission Session Start: 2025-06-10
Application Deadline: 2025-10-02

Submission Procedure

The call follows a 'single-stage' submission procedure.
Applications must be submitted through the Funding & Tenders Portal's Electronic Submission Service.

Required Documentation and Materials

Application form specific to this call, available in the Submission System (Standard application form for HE CSA).
Compliance with proposal page limits and layout as described in Annex A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, and Part B of the Application Form.

Application Support

Online Manual: Provides guidance on procedures from proposal submission to grant management.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide: Detailed guidance on structure, budget, and political priorities.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ: Answers to common questions on submission, evaluation, and grant management.
Research Enquiry Service: For general questions about European research and EU Research Framework Programmes.
National Contact Points (NCPs): Guidance, practical information, and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe, available in EU and many non-EU/non-associated countries.
Enterprise Europe Network (EEN): Advice for businesses, especially SMEs, including guidance on EU research funding.
IT Helpdesk: For technical issues with the Funding & Tenders Portal (e.g., login, access rights, submission technicalities).
European IPR Helpdesk: Assistance on intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk: Advice on standardisation in project proposals.
Partner Search: Tools to help find partner organizations for proposals.

Post-Award Requirements

Grant beneficiaries must adhere to the legal and financial setup of grants as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial reporting and audit requirements are specified in Annex G.

Evaluation Criteria

Standard Horizon Europe Evaluation Criteria

Excellence: Quality of the project's objectives, proposed methodology, and the soundness of the concept. This includes the clarity of the vision for aligning stakeholders, the common plan, and technology roadmap.
Impact: The potential for the project's results to contribute to expected outcomes, including the coordination of stakeholder communities, enabling demand-side consideration, facilitating demos, converging towards shared approaches for telco-edge-cloud infrastructure, and putting in place robust mechanisms for collaboration and shared governance. Contribution to EU strategic autonomy and reducing technological dependency.
Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation: Coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, including the appropriateness of the resources allocated, management structures, and the capacity of the consortium members to execute the project. This includes the neutral position of the coordinator and the ability to integrate different segments of the value chain.

Specific Scoring Factors

Stakeholder Alignment and Coordination: Effectiveness of proposed mechanisms to bring together diverse stakeholder communities (software, hardware, computing, telcos, AI, cloud) and work on a common plan/roadmap.
Demand-Side Integration: How well the project considers and integrates requirements from different applications/user communities.
Demonstration Potential: Capacity to assist stakeholders in building small, and later larger-scale, demos based on the supply-side LSP developments.
Technological Convergence: Ability to facilitate convergence towards a shared, modular, and flexible approach for telco-edge-cloud infrastructure and services among value chain segments.
Open-Source Contribution: Effectiveness of mechanisms for exchange, collaboration, and shared governance, including the establishment of a repository with a critical mass of largely open-source building blocks and provision of maintenance/support services.
Strategic Relevance: Contribution to the EU's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, and avoidance of technological dependency on non-EU sources.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

General Annexes: Proposals must comply with the general conditions outlined in Annexes A to G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
EU Regulations: Compliance with EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, EU Framework Programme 2021/695, and EU Specific Programme Decision 2021/764 is required.

Data and Security Requirements

Strategic Interests: The project aims to safeguard the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, avoiding technological dependency on non-EU sources.
Data Protection: Implicitly required given the focus on 'secure data exchanges' and 'highly secure communication of critical data' within Destination 3.

Intellectual Property (IP)

Open-Source Focus: A key expectation is the open-source delivery of Telco Edge Cloud building blocks and a repository with a critical mass of largely open-source components, including maintenance and support services. This implies a specific approach to IP management, favoring open licensing for project outputs.

Ethical Considerations

Gender Dimension: For this specific topic, the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

Specific Operational Requirements

Coordinator Neutrality: The coordinator of the CSA action is expected to adopt a neutral position to ensure effective coordination among diverse stakeholders.
Synergies: Proposals are expected to build synergies with relevant topics under the Digital Europe Programme (DEP) and Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
Industrial Alignment: Open-source modules should be aligned with industrial interests and common European building blocks, including developments at IPCEI-CIS Telco Edge Cloud community initiatives (e.g., Sylva, Anuket, Nephio, CAMARA).
Feedback Loops: Demand-side developments in relevant verticals should offer continuous feedback to supply-side endeavors.
Forum for Consultation: The project should provide a forum for consultation and input from demand-side application sectors and verticals into the development of the supply-side architecture.

Grant Details