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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant aims to establish a comprehensive 'Standardisation Booster' service to increase the participation of researchers and innovators in standardisation activities. Its core objective is to facilitate the valorisation of research and innovation results by integrating them into new or revised standards.
It targets a wide range of European projects and organisations, helping them convert their R&I outcomes into standards that support industrial needs and policy goals.
This is a SECTOR-AGNOSTIC grant, as standardisation is cross-cutting, but with a particular focus on critical technology areas like advanced materials, digital, and AI.
The geographic scope covers the European Union and countries associated with Horizon Europe, with the service open to national publicly funded R&I projects as well.
Key filtering criteria include an organisation's involvement in R&I projects (Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, national) and a need to translate research results into standards.
This grant is the full implementation of a successful pilot program (HS Booster), indicating it's a recurring program within the Horizon Europe framework, specifically for Work Programme 2025.

Financial Structure

The total budget for this specific grant topic is EUR 1,500,000.
The expected number of grants is one (1).
The minimum contribution per grant is EUR 1,500,000.
The maximum contribution per grant is EUR 1,500,000.
Funding takes the form of 'lump sum contributions', meaning payments are linked to the proper implementation of agreed work packages, not actual incurred costs.
Eligible costs covered by the lump sum include: Personnel costs (employees, contract workers, seconded persons, SME owners), subcontracting costs, purchase costs (travel, subsistence, equipment, other goods, works and services), and other specific cost categories like financial support to third parties.
The maximum amount of financial support that can be provided to each third party is EUR 60,000.
Indirect costs (overhead) are included in the lump sum calculation, based on the Horizon Europe 25% flat rate where applicable.
Payments are made if the corresponding work packages are properly implemented and all other grant agreement obligations are met.
Lump sum contributions for unfulfilled work packages are not paid but can be paid later if conditions are met. If conditions are never met, the grant is reduced accordingly.
There are no requirements for co-financing or matching funds from the beneficiary for the lump sum amount, as it covers 100% of the agreed lump sum for completed work.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Types

Standard development organisations
Research and technology organisations (RTOs)
Universities
Private companies
SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises)
Industrial partners
Innovation agencies
National metrology institutes

Geographic Location

Organizations from EU Member States are eligible.
Organizations from countries associated with the Horizon Europe program are also eligible.

Project Context

The service is primarily for beneficiaries of Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects.
It is also open to beneficiaries of other EU-funded projects.
It is open to beneficiaries of national publicly funded R&I projects.

Expertise and Capacity

Applicants (consortia) should be formed by 'experts in standardisation'.
Must be able to support beneficiaries from Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and other publicly funded projects.

Exclusion Criteria

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Process

Application Timeline

The submission session opened on 2025-05-22.
The application deadline is 2025-09-23.

Application Procedure

Applications must be submitted via the Electronic Submission Service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
This is a 'single-stage' submission procedure.
Applicants will need to authenticate, typically using an EU Login account (SMS authentication is no longer possible).

Required Documentation and Materials

Application Form: Specific to this call, available in the Submission System, with page limits and layout described in Annex A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Part B of the Application Form: Contains detailed proposal information, subject to page limits.
Detailed Budget Table (HE LS): Required for lump sum proposals.
Proposals must clearly describe activities for each work package and all related resources.
Applicants must declare that they have followed their own accounting practices for preparing the estimated budget.

Reporting and Monitoring

Monitoring and evaluation will focus on the technical implementation of the action and the fulfillment of conditions for releasing lump sum contributions per work package.
There is no obligation for beneficiaries to report actual costs.

Post-Award Requirements

Compliance with ethical standards, dissemination and exploitation of results, and management of intellectual property will be monitored.

Evaluation Criteria

Core Evaluation Criteria

Excellence: The quality of the proposed approach and methodology.
Expected Impact: The potential for the project to achieve its stated outcomes, such as increasing participation in standardisation, developing new standards, and enhancing the uptake of new technologies.
Quality and Efficiency of Implementation: The coherence and effectiveness of the project plan, including the allocation of resources and the proposed management structure.

Financial Evaluation

Experts with financial knowledge will check the budget estimate for each work package.
Assessment will be based on relevant benchmarks, market prices, statistical data, or historical data from comparable actions.
Experts will verify that the proposed resources and the split of lump sum shares are sufficient to achieve the planned activities and expected outputs.
Proposals must include a declaration that beneficiaries have used their own accounting practices for budget preparation.

Strategic Alignment

Proposals should demonstrate alignment with key EU policy initiatives such as the Digital Decade, the New Industrial Strategy for Europe, the EU Standardisation Strategy, the Advanced Materials for Industrial Leadership Communication, and the European Economic Security Strategy.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Projects must align with the objectives of the EU Standardisation Strategy, Digital Decade, New Industrial Strategy for Europe, Advanced Materials for Industrial Leadership, and European Economic Security Strategy.
Compliance with conditions for using lump sum contributions, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021, is mandatory.
Compliance with general Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (B, C, D, F, G) regarding eligible countries, financial/operational capacity, exclusion criteria, evaluation/award criteria, submission/evaluation processes, and grant setup.

Ethical and Technical Standards

Expected to promote human-centric innovation, trustworthy, safe, and reliable technologies, free from gender, racial, and other social biases by design.
Intellectual property management is a key aspect, with compliance focusing on proper management rather than financial audits.

Risk Management

While financial audits are minimized due to the lump sum model, checks, reviews, and audits will focus on whether the conditions for payment of work package lump sum contributions have been met.
Non-compliance could lead to recovery of undue payments.

Unique Aspects & Strategic Opportunities

This grant builds upon the achievements and lessons learned from the successful Horizon Standardisation Booster (HS Booster) pilot project (April 2022 - March 2025).
The service is designed to increase the number of European standards and promote the use of the existing 'Training Academy', with continuous improvements based on user feedback.
Scaling and full implementation at the member state level are paramount, extending beyond EU-funded projects to national publicly funded R&I.
The project aims to assist beneficiaries in engaging with standardisation bodies, contributing to standard creation through participation in focus groups, setting up technical committees, or drafting technical specifications/reports.
There is a specific focus on valorising results from critical technology areas identified in the Commission Recommendation on critical technology areas.

Grant Details