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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

- Core objective: To foster efficient, open, inclusive, and interconnected European innovation ecosystems by implementing co-funded action plans for connected regional innovation valleys across the EU. - Target recipient type: Consortia led by national or regional authorities, collaborating with private sector, research, and innovation actors. - Target size: Not specified by employee count, but involves public authorities and various private actors (SMEs, startups, industry). - SECTOR-SPECIFIC - Geographic scope: EU Member States and Associated Countries, with specific requirements for regional innovation performance levels (moderate/emerging vs. strong/innovation leader). - Key filtering criteria: Consortium leadership by national/regional authorities, mandatory interregional collaboration, adherence to specific regional innovation levels, and a focus on key EU priorities such as green and digital transitions and deep tech. - Grant frequency: This is a specific topic within the Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme for European Innovation Ecosystems.

Financial Structure

Total budget for this topic: 35,000,000 EUR.
Minimum grant amount per project: 5,000,000 EUR.
Maximum grant amount per project: 8,000,000 EUR.
Currency: EUR.
Funding rate: 50.0% of the total eligible costs for the main project received by the consortium.
Co-financing/Complementary Funding: The consortium must secure 50% of the project's total costs from other sources (e.g., national, regional, EU, or private investments). A letter of intent detailing this complementary funding source is required upon submission.
Financial Support to Third Parties (Cascading Grants): The consortium must allocate at least 50% of their total eligible costs (i.e., the overall project budget, not just the grant portion) to providing financial support to third parties and/or to the implementation of Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) or Public Procurement of Innovative solutions (PPI) activities.
Maximum amount to be granted to each third party: 600,000 EUR.
Support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type

Consortium must include at least three (3) national or regional authorities.
These authorities must be from at least three (3) different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
At least one (1) authority must represent a 'moderate' or 'emerging' innovator region.
At least one (1) authority must represent a 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator region.
Private actors, research, and innovation entities (e.g., SMEs, startups, industry, clusters, investors, foundations) are expected to participate or be involved in the activities.

Geographic Location

Applicants must be legal entities established in EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Regional innovation levels are determined by the Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS) for regions and European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) for national authorities (using the latest version at call opening).
Associated Countries not included in the EIS/RIS that are ranked below 25 on the latest Global Innovation Index (GII) are considered 'moderate' or 'emerging' innovators.
For Associated Countries not listed in any of the above, participation rank in the Horizon Europe programme (below average) will serve as the reference for 'moderate' or 'emerging' innovator status.

Consortium Requirements

Formation of a consortium is mandatory.
A single letter of intent indicating the source of the required 50% complementary funding must be submitted with the proposal.

Exclusion Criteria

Proposals that are identical to those submitted under the call HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-05-ACCESS-01 are not eligible.

Application Process

Application Timeline and Deadlines

Call opening date: 2025-05-14.
Application deadline: 2025-10-15.
Submission procedure: Single-stage.
Suggested project duration: Three to five (3-5) years.

Required Documentation and Materials

Standard application form (HE COFUND) available through the Submission System.
A comprehensive proposal including:
- The applicants' commitment to enhance coordination and directionality of R&I investments.
- Their joint strategic visions and proposed joint innovation program of activities.
- A concrete action plan for a selected thematic/technological area, with initial details at submission and further annual detailing during implementation.
- Description of necessary activities, the process to be followed, and research and innovation assets to be mobilized.
- An explanation of the need for and reasons behind the selected Annual Work Programmes, demonstrating EU added value and scalability.
- Provisions and modalities for competitive selection and funding of at least three interregional innovation projects via financial support to third parties (FSTP).
- A consistent set of core collaborative activities (e.g., networking, resource/knowledge sharing, market analysis, training, support for public procurement).
- An explanation for selecting the proposed strategic cooperation areas and how they will improve EU innovation ecosystems.
- Details on how the consortium plans to design and coordinate the implementation of joint activities.
- A set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with verifiable indicators.
A single letter of intent indicating the source of the required 50% complementary funding must be submitted with the proposal.
A letter of intent demonstrating the consortium's long-term commitment to cooperation activities.

Project Implementation and Reporting

Annual Work Plans must be submitted and are subject to approval by the Commission. The first year's Annual Work Plan is due with the proposal.
Interregional innovation projects selected by the consortium are expected to deliver concrete and tangible outcomes during their implementation.
Project results should be disseminated and exploited effectively.
These interregional projects must be managed in a coordinated manner as a portfolio, identifying links among projects and with other relevant initiatives.

Post-Award Requirements

Grants awarded under this topic require submission of annual work plans.
Compliance with the legal and financial setup of grants as described in Annex G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation Criteria

Award Criteria

Award criteria, scoring mechanisms, and thresholds are detailed in Annex D of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Expected Impact and Contribution

Proposals should demonstrate a credible pathway to strengthening robust interconnected innovation ecosystems and fostering a favorable environment for business scalability, especially in the deep tech sector.
Expected impacts include:
- Creation of efficient, inclusive, and interconnected innovation ecosystems across the EU.
- Enhanced synergies, complementarities, and cooperation among European innovation ecosystems around strategic areas, technologies, and challenges.
- Establishment of common knowledge assets within regional innovation valleys, supporting cross-border connectedness.
- Increased innovation capabilities, including in deep tech, to facilitate market entry and EU-level scaling of innovations.
- Improved connections between 'innovation leaders'/'strong' innovator regions and 'moderate'/'emerging' innovator regions.
- Mobilization of more innovation co-investments and synergies with other funding instruments.
- Increased participation of all innovation ecosystem actors in technology and industrial value chains relevant to EU transitions.

Project Quality and Implementation

Proposals must present a clear joint strategic vision and programme of activities.
Projects should outline concrete action plans for a selected thematic/technological area, with further detailing on an annual basis.
Quality of proposed activities, ensuring participation of private actors (e.g., SMEs, startups, industry) and demonstration of complementarity and synergies with other funds/strategies.
Scalability of proposed Annual Work Programmes at European level and demonstration of strong EU added value.
Integration of clear steps: capacity building, common strategy setting, concrete joint activities, and concrete joint innovation actions.
Inclusion of provisions for the competitive selection and funding of at least three interregional innovation projects (TRL 6-8), potentially involving Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) or Public Procurement of Innovative solutions (PPI).
Focus on a specific thematic/technological area aligned with Smart Specialisation Strategies and EU strategic priorities (green/digital transitions, open strategic autonomy).

Impact and Measurement

Projects must include a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aligned with proposed objectives and supported by verifiable indicators (e.g., referring to Sustainable Development Goals, European Commission Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Proposals and grant implementation must adhere to the general conditions outlined in Annexes A, B, C, D, F, and G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Projects are subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
The legal and financial setup of grants is governed by Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Data Protection and Ethical Standards

Data protection and privacy regulations from the Horizon Europe framework apply.
Ethical standards and requirements applicable to Horizon Europe projects must be met. The grant emphasizes inclusivity, diversity, and gender equality, aligning with the European Commission Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025.

Intellectual Property (IP)

Intellectual Property policies are governed by the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and the Model Grant Agreement, consistent with general EU funding rules.

Risk Management

While not explicitly detailed, risk management is an inherent part of complex grant projects, implicitly covered by general project planning and implementation expectations.

Special Considerations and Strategic Opportunities

Regional Innovation Valleys: The core objective is to create and support 'regional innovation valleys' by building on strategic areas of regional strength and specialisation, often defined in Smart Specialisation Strategies.
Strategic Alignment: Projects must align with key EU priorities, including the New European Innovation Agenda, the twin green and digital transition, the net-zero objective, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, increasing global food security, mastering digital transformation (cybersecurity, AI), improving healthcare, and achieving circularity.
Quadruple Helix Approach: Encourages deep collaboration among industry, academia, civil society, and public authorities.
Interregional Collaboration: A strong emphasis on fostering connections and cooperation between regions with varying innovation performances ('leaders'/'strong' with 'moderate'/'emerging') to improve territorial cohesion.
Synergies with Other Funds: Applicants are encouraged to actively seek synergies and complementary funding from other EU, national, and regional programmes (e.g., Cohesion Policy funds, Recovery and Resilience Fund).
Technology Readiness Levels (TRL): Innovation projects funded through cascading grants should generally target TRLs 6-8 (demonstration in relevant environment to first-of-a-kind commercial application).
Procurement Innovation: Projects can involve Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) or Public Procurement of Innovative solutions (PPI).
Networking and Ecosystem Building: Focus on fostering links with established European innovation networks and communities (e.g., EIT, KICs, EIC, EEN, clusters, university alliances, Startup Europe).
Cascading Grants: A significant portion (at least 50%) of the total project budget must be dedicated to financial support for third parties or procurement activities, indicating a strong focus on empowering smaller, interregional innovation projects.
Long-term Commitment: Consortia are expected to demonstrate a long-term commitment to the cooperation activities established through the project.

Grant Details