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Grant Details

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

  • Single, clear statement of grant's core objective: This grant aims to foster the development of an 'Open Internet Stack' by building technological commons and open-source components, focusing on trust, transactions, connectivity, and decentralisation to implement Europe's vision for next-generation digital infrastructures, especially the 3C (Cloud-to-Edge-to-IoT Continuum) networks and Web 4.0.
  • Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: The primary recipients are organizations forming consortia capable of significant research and innovation. Financial support to third parties (sub-grantees) is specifically targeted at the European Open Source community, including SMEs, research institutes, and individual researchers and developers.
  • MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC
  • Geographic scope and any location requirements:
  • Eligible countries are those described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, typically EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
  • Projects must contribute to the European vision of next-generation digital infrastructures.
  • Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening:
  • Focus on open-source software and hardware development.
  • Projects must contribute to the 'Open Internet Stack' and '3C networks' concepts.
  • Emphasis on trust technologies, network/connectivity, and decentralised technologies.
  • Strong community engagement and support for third parties.
  • Grant frequency and program context:
  • This is a recurring topic within the broader Horizon Europe framework program (2021-2027), specifically under Cluster 4: Digital, Industry and Space, Destination 3.

Financial Structure

  • Total budget for this specific topic (HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-DATA-11): EUR 10,000,000.
  • Expected number of grants for this topic: 1.
  • Minimum grant amount per project: EUR 10,000,000.
  • Maximum grant amount per project: EUR 10,000,000.
  • Currency: EUR.
  • Beneficiaries (main grant recipients) may provide financial support to third parties.
  • Financial support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
  • Maximum amount to be granted to each third party: EUR 400,000.
  • Up to 70% of the total requested EU contribution for the main grant could be allocated to financial support to third parties, selected through open calls.
  • Financial support to third parties will typically be in the EUR 50,000 to 150,000 range per project.
  • The consortium must manage the program logic and lifecycle for third-party projects and provide necessary technical and non-technical support. The budget for these tasks cannot be taken from the funds earmarked for financial support to third parties.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type & Capacity
  • Applicants must be a consortium (implied by the nature of the 'Research and Innovation Action' and expected project scale).
  • Applicants must demonstrate extensive experience and understanding of Open-Source communities.
  • Applicants must have proven expertise covering the full Open-Source life cycle, including years of experience and indication of the volume of Open-Source projects supported.
  • Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. These third parties are expected to be from the European Open Source community, including SMEs, research institutes, and individual researchers and developers.
Geographic Location
  • Eligible countries for the main grant recipients are those described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. These typically include:
    • Austria (AT)
    • Belgium (BE)
    • Bulgaria (BG)
    • Croatia (HR)
    • Cyprus (CY)
    • Czechia (CZ)
    • Denmark (DK)
    • Estonia (EE)
    • Finland (FI)
    • France (FR)
    • Germany (DE)
    • Greece (GR)
    • Hungary (HU)
    • Ireland (IE)
    • Italy (IT)
    • Latvia (LV)
    • Lithuania (LT)
    • Luxembourg (LU)
    • Malta (MT)
    • Netherlands (NL)
    • Poland (PL)
    • Portugal (PT)
    • Romania (RO)
    • Slovakia (SK)
    • Slovenia (SI)
    • Spain (ES)
    • Sweden (SE)
    • (and potentially Associated Countries to Horizon Europe, as per Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes).
Other Eligible Conditions
  • Proposals are subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
  • Applicants must meet admissibility conditions regarding proposal page limits and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.
  • Applicants must satisfy financial and operational capacity requirements and exclusion criteria as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Process

Application Procedure
  • Submission System: The application form specific to this call is available in the Funding & Tenders Portal Submission System.
  • Process Overview: Submission and evaluation processes are detailed in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
  • Guidance Documents: Applicants should consult the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (MGA), Call-specific instructions, and specific guidance on financial support to third parties.
Key Dates and Deadlines
  • Submission Opening Date: 2025-06-10.
  • Application Deadline: 2025-10-02 00:00:00+0000.
  • Submission Model: Single-stage submission.
  • Indicative Timeline for Evaluation: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes (not specified directly in provided text, but typically 3-5 months after deadline).
Project Implementation Timeline
  • Typical Duration: Overall project duration is typically 36 months, though proposals requesting other durations are also accepted.
  • Third-Party Project Duration: Financial support to third-party projects typically have an indicative duration of 9 to 12 months.
Support and Resources
  • Online Manual: A comprehensive guide on procedures from proposal submission to grant management.
  • Horizon Europe Programme Guide: Detailed guidance on the structure, budget, and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
  • Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ: Answers to frequently asked 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): Provide guidance, practical information, and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe within specific countries (including non-EU and non-associated countries).
  • Enterprise Europe Network (EEN): Offers advice to businesses, particularly SMEs, including guidance on EU research funding.
  • IT Helpdesk: For technical issues related to the Funding & Tenders Portal (e.g., passwords, access rights, submission technicalities).
  • European IPR Helpdesk: Assistance with intellectual property issues.
  • Standardization Helpdesks: CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk provide advice on integrating standardisation into project proposals.
  • Ethical Guidelines: The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment outline principles for researchers, employers, and funders.
  • Partner Search Tool: Available to help find suitable partner organizations for a proposal.

Evaluation Criteria

Project Quality and Expected Outcomes
  • Publicly Available Stack: Proposal clearly contributes to a publicly available and operational stack of strategic commons focusing on internet technologies for trust, transactions, connectivity, and decentralisation.
  • 3C Networks and Web 4.0 Alignment: Demonstrated contribution to implementing the European vision of next-generation digital infrastructures, especially the 3C networks (Cloud-to-Edge-to-IoT Continuum) and the wider Web 4.0.
  • Inclusive Applications: Development of a library of inclusive, trustworthy, interoperable, and human-centric applications and services leveraging Open-Source commons building blocks.
  • Ecosystem Development: Potential to stimulate a flourishing European ecosystem of contributors to digital commons (e.g., individuals, SMEs, academics).
  • EU Legal Framework Compliance: Expected to produce tools, services, and insights supporting compliance with and implementation of EU legal frameworks (e.g., EUDI, CRA, DMA, DSA, GDPR, Data Act, DGA).
Technical Scope and Approach
  • Key Technology Areas Addressed: The project must cover at least three technology areas: trust technologies, network/connectivity technologies, and decentralised technologies for an immersive world.
  • 3C Pilot Integration: Proposals must devise appropriate mechanisms for cooperation with the 3C pilot to ensure:
    • Integration of requirements and specifications from the 3C large scale pilots.
    • Swift integration of building blocks developed by the Open Internet Stack into the 3C large scale pilot, including testing and validation mechanisms.
  • Operationalization and Re-use: Demonstration of how the produced software will be operationalized as a stack of open libraries accessible through a common European repository, maximizing re-use, reproducibility, and resilience for adopters.
  • Portfolio Management: Active management of the portfolio of funded projects (if FSTP is used), ensuring a coherent overall picture in relation to 3Cs objectives, maturity, and trusted/easy deployment capabilities.
  • Component Re-use: Striving for identification of common tools and maximum re-use of components from other funded projects (e.g., interoperable identity and credential management tools, common packaging solutions).
Community Engagement and Financial Support to Third Parties (if applicable)
  • Targeting Open-Source Communities: If opting for financial support to third parties, calls should target Open-Source communities actively influencing the course of the Internet, particularly the European Open Source community with experience in EU rules and values.
  • Impact of Third-Party Projects: Third-party projects should aim to improve trust, transactions, decentralisation, balancing distribution, security (including AI for security), AI usage, and energy efficiency towards climate neutrality.
  • Maturity Mechanisms for Third Parties: Detailed definition of mechanisms for maturing third parties' projects (e.g., security/accessibility audits, packaging, localization, documentation, performance optimisation, licensing advice).
  • Growth Path for Third Parties: Detailed path to growth for third parties' projects, including animating communities, creating momentum, defining how projects gain critical mass, and provided services.
Strategic Alignment and Collaboration
  • Standardisation Strategy: Proposals should detail the strategy for standardisation.
  • Active Collaboration: Seeking active collaboration with other initiatives addressing internet commons (national, European, and beyond Europe) and European technology industries.
  • Experience and Expertise: Applicants' experience and understanding of Open-Source communities and expertise covering the full Open-Source life cycle (proven track record) will be assessed.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory and Legal Compliance
  • EU Legal Framework: Project results are expected to contribute to tools, services, and insights that support compliance with and implementation of key EU legal frameworks, including EUDI, CRA (Cyber Resilience Act), DMA (Digital Markets Act), DSA (Digital Services Act), GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), Data Act, and DGA (Data Governance Act).
  • European Communication Networks: Projects are subject to specific restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
Ethical Standards and Values
  • European Values Alignment: Solutions developed must align with EU rules and values, contributing to inclusive, trustworthy, interoperable, and human-centric applications.
  • Trustworthiness: The expected outcomes include increasing the value of the network in respect of European values.
  • Ethical AI: Emphasis on AI usage that is trustworthy and aligns with EU values, including AI for security.
Technical and Open Source Requirements
  • Technological Commons: The core focus is on developing 'technological commons' and 'open-source 3C building blocks'.
  • Open-Source Governance: The action fosters an Open-Source framework developed through 'commons', meaning open-source software governed by communities of contributors.
  • Re-use and Reproducibility: Produced software must be operationalized as a stack of open libraries accessible through a common European repository, maximizing re-use, reproducibility, and resilience.
  • Standardisation: Proposals must detail a clear strategy for standardisation efforts.
Collaboration and Coordination
  • Mandatory Cooperation with 3C Pilot: Applicants must establish appropriate mechanisms for cooperation with the '3C large scale pilot' to ensure integration of requirements and swift integration of developed building blocks. Concrete plans for this cooperation are required.
  • Risk of Duplication: The 3C CSA (Coordination and Support Action) will ensure coordination and monitoring to mitigate duplication risks across the 3C projects' activities and among sub-grantees.
  • External Collaboration: Active collaboration with other initiatives addressing internet commons (national, European, and international levels) and European technology industries is expected.
Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) Specifics
  • Open Calls for FSTP: If FSTP is chosen, applicants should issue open calls to target Open-Source communities that actively influence the Internet's direction, focusing on European SMEs, research institutes, and individual researchers/developers.
  • Coherent Portfolio: Solutions selected under FSTP open calls must form a coherent portfolio and avoid duplications.
  • Maturity Support: The main grant recipients are responsible for defining mechanisms for maturing third-party projects (e.g., security/accessibility audits, packaging, localisation, documentation, performance optimisation, licensing advice).
  • Growth Path: Applicants should detail strategies for how third-party projects will achieve critical mass, including community animation and provided services.
Environmental and Energy Efficiency
  • Climate Neutrality: Projects should aim for optimal balance between distribution, security, AI usage, and energy efficiency, targeting climate neutrality objectives.

Grant Details

open internet stack technological commons open source software open source hardware 3c networks cloud-to-edge-to-iot web 4.0 trust technologies privacy enhancing technologies decentralised technologies connectivity ai for security digital commons research and innovation ria horizon europe digital industry space eu legal framework compliance gdpr data act dga cra dsa eudi standardisation community building sme support research institutes individual developers energy efficiency climate neutrality
Open Internet Stack: development of technological commons/open-source 3C building blocks (RIA)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-DATA-11
Horizon Europe
UNIVERSITY SME ENTERPRISE NGO OTHER
AT BE BG HR CY CZ DK EE FI FR DE GR HU IE IT LV LT LU MT NL PL PT RO SK SI ES SE
TECHNOLOGY OTHER
DEVELOPMENT EARLY_MARKET
OTHER
SDG7 SDG9 SDG13 SDG16
FUNDING RESEARCH_DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY_BUILDING NETWORKING INNOVATION_COMMERCIALIZATION
10000000.00
10000000.00
10000000.00
EUR
None
Oct. 2, 2025, midnight
Not specified, but usually 3-5 months after deadline