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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The core objective of this grant is to foster the creation of efficient, open, inclusive, and interconnected 'regional innovation valleys' across the European Union. It aims to accelerate and strengthen innovation, particularly in thematic and technological areas (including deep tech) critical for EU value chains, and to address the innovation divide within Europe. - Target recipients: Primarily national and regional authorities, in partnership with research and innovation actors, and the private sector (including SMEs, start-ups, and industry). - This grant is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, focusing on areas that contribute to the twin green and digital transition, net-zero objectives, global food security, improving healthcare, and achieving circularity. - Geographic scope: EU Member States and Associated Countries, specifically emphasizing collaboration between 'widening countries' (those with lower innovation performance) and 'non-widening countries' (innovation leaders). - Key filtering criteria for initial screening: Applicants must form a consortium of national/regional authorities from diverse innovation performance regions, with the project coordinator located in a widening country, and a significant portion of the budget dedicated to widening country participants. - Grant frequency: This is a specific topic within the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, suggesting it is a call open for this specific period, characteristic of Horizon Europe's recurring program cycles.

Financial Structure

Total budget for the call (HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-05-ACCESS-01): EUR 24,000,000 for 2025.
Minimum grant amount for the main project: EUR 5,000,000.
Maximum grant amount for the main project: EUR 8,000,000.
Currency: EUR.
Funding rate for the main grant: 50.0% of the total eligible costs.
Financial support to third parties (cascading grants):
- Maximum amount to be granted to each third party: EUR 600,000.
- Support to third parties must be provided in the form of grants.
Co-financing requirements: The consortium must commit at least 50% of their total eligible costs to financial support to third parties and/or PCP/PPI procurements, sourced from complementary funding (e.g., national/regional funding, EU funding, or private investments).
Financial reporting requirements: Annual work plans must be submitted and are subject to approval by the Commission. The first year's annual work plan must be submitted together with the proposal.
Indirect cost policies and audit requirements are described in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (not detailed in this document).

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Structure

Consortium required: Yes, for the main grant application.
Minimum of three (3) national or regional authorities as beneficiaries.
These authorities must be from at least three (3) different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
At least two (2) of these authorities must be from a 'widening country'.
At least one (1) of these authorities must be from a 'non-widening country'.
Among the national or regional authorities participating as beneficiaries, at least one (1) must be from a 'moderate' or 'emerging' innovator region, and at least one (1) must be from a 'strong' or 'innovation leader' region.
The coordinator of the project must be established in a 'widening country'.
The major share of the budget (not explicitly defined as a percentage, but implied to be substantial) has to be allocated to participants from 'widening countries'.

Innovation Status Definition

'Moderate' or 'emerging' innovator region: Determined by the Regional Innovation Scoreboard or European Innovation Scoreboard. Associated Countries not included in these scoreboards and ranked below 25 on the latest Global Innovation Index, or ranked below the average in their Horizon Europe country profile, are also considered 'moderate' or 'emerging' innovators.
'Strong' or 'innovation leader' region: Determined by the Regional Innovation Scoreboard or European Innovation Scoreboard.

Financial Requirements

The consortium must allocate at least 50% of their total eligible costs to financial support to third parties (e.g., cascading grants) and/or to the implementation of Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) or Public Procurement of Innovative solutions (PPI) procurements.
A single letter of intent indicating the source of this required 50% complementary funding (e.g., national and/or regional funding, EU funding, or private investments) must be submitted at the moment of proposal submission.

Other Conditions

Compliance with general conditions described in Annexes A, B, C, D, F, and G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, concerning admissibility, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, exclusion criteria, evaluation, and legal/financial set-up.
Applicants are encouraged to consider a project duration of three to five (3-5) years.

Application Process

Application Deadlines and Schedule

Call opening date: 2025-05-14.
Application deadline: 2025-10-15 00:00:00+00.

Application Procedure

Submission procedure: Single-stage.
Submission platform: Electronic Submission Service via the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Applicants must select the 'HORIZON-COFUND HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions' type of action.

Required Documentation and Materials

Proposal page limit and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Part B of the Application Form (specific to this call, available in the Submission System).
A single letter of intent indicating the source of the required 50% complementary funding.
Annual work plan for the first year, to be submitted along with the proposal.
The proposal must present the applicants' commitment to enhance coordination and directionality of their research and innovation (R&I) investments and policies, their joint strategic visions, and a proposed joint innovation programme of activities.

Evaluation Process

Evaluation criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also described in Annex F.

Support and Guidance Availability

General guidance available through the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, and Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ.
Specific assistance from Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs) in EU and Associated Countries, Enterprise Europe Network (for SMEs), IT Helpdesk for technical issues, European IPR Helpdesk for intellectual property, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesk for standardisation.
A Partner Search facility is available to help find partner organisations.

Project Implementation and Reporting

Project duration: Encouraged to be three to five (3-5) years.
Reporting obligations: Annual work plans are subject to approval by the Commission.
Implementation phases: Must include capacity building, setting common strategy and joint work/action plans, concrete joint activities, and concrete joint innovation actions (e.g., joint funding programs/calls).
The project is expected to implement joint open calls for competitive selection and funding of at least three interregional innovation projects via financial support to third parties (FSTP) or PCP/PPI procurements.

Evaluation Criteria

Strategic Alignment and Impact

Contribution to the New European Innovation Agenda by creating efficient, inclusive, and interconnected innovation ecosystems across the EU.
Enhancement of synergies, complementarities, and cooperation among European innovation ecosystems around strategic areas, technologies, and challenges of common European interest.
Creation of common knowledge assets within regional innovation valleys and support for their cross-border connectedness.
Increase of innovation capabilities, including in deep tech, to enable ideas to reach the market and scale up at EU level.
Improvement of links between innovation 'leader' and 'strong' innovator regions with 'moderate' and 'emerging' innovator regions.
Mobilization of other funding instruments (EU, national, regional public funds, private funds) to complement Horizon Europe support (co-investments).
Increased participation of innovation ecosystem actors across EU territories in technology and industrial value chains relevant to the EU twin green and digital transition.

Quality of the Proposal and Implementation Plan

Clear presentation of applicants' commitment to enhance coordination and directionality of R&I investments and policies, and their joint strategic visions and proposed joint innovation programme of activities.
Concrete action plans with selected thematic/technological areas and agreed objectives must be presented at proposal submission.
Detailed description of activities, processes, and mobilised R&I assets that are open, clear, realistic, and impact-oriented, ensuring participation of private actors and synergies with other funds.
Justification for the selected Annual Work Programmes, demonstrating scalability at European level and strong EU added value.
Inclusion of provisions and modalities for the competitive selection and funding of at least three interregional innovation projects (via FSTP, PCP, or PPI). These projects should be similar to HE Innovation Actions or close-to-market actions (TRL 6-8), or PCP/PPI (TRL 8).
Clear explanation of how the consortium plans to design and coordinate the implementation of joint activities (e.g., resources, assets, stakeholder involvement).
Consistency and relevance of core collaborative activities, such as networking, knowledge sharing, market analysis, training, and support for SMEs/start-ups.

Innovation and Thematic Focus

Focus on specific thematic/technological areas (including deep tech) that are critical for EU value chains.
Contribution to the twin green and digital transition and the net-zero objective, particularly in areas like reducing fossil fuel reliance, global food security, digital transformation, healthcare, and circularity.

Collaboration and Sustainability

Demonstrable long-term commitment towards engaging in cooperation activities, evidenced by a letter of intent.
Inclusion of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aligned with proposed objectives, with verifiable indicators (e.g., referring to Sustainable Development Goals, European Commission Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

General admissibility conditions and eligible countries are governed by Annexes A and B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and operational capacity requirements and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the General Annexes.
The legal and financial set-up of the grants, including provisions for financial support to third parties, is detailed in Annex G of the General Annexes.
Compliance with EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 is required.
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment, and Financial Capacity Assessment must be followed.

Ethical and Technical Standards

Data protection and privacy regulations: Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
Ethical standards: Implicit within the Horizon Europe framework.
Intellectual property policies: Governed by the general Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement (MGA) and relevant annexes.

Unique Project Aspects and Strategic Alignment

This action specifically aims to create 'regional innovation valleys' across the EU, aligning with the New European Innovation Agenda's objective to address the innovation divide.
The project must build on strategic areas of regional strength and specialization (defined in smart specialization strategies) and contribute to key EU priorities.
The consortium is mandated to include national or regional authorities from both 'widening' and 'non-widening' countries/regions, with a coordinator from a widening country and a major share of the budget allocated to widening country participants.
A significant portion (50% of total eligible costs) must be dedicated to cascading grants or innovation procurements (PCP/PPI) to third parties, which must be concrete interregional projects similar to HE Innovation Actions (TRL 6-8) or PCP/PPI (TRL 8).
Proposals must demonstrate the consortium's commitment to enhancing coordination and directionality of R&I investments and policies, and present joint strategic visions.
Emphasis is placed on open, inclusive, and interconnected European innovation ecosystems, with mandatory participation of private actors (SMEs, start-ups, industry) for joint implementation or co-funding.
The project must contribute to the twin green and digital transition and the net-zero objective.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) must be included, aligning with objectives and referring to frameworks like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the European Commission Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025.
A letter of intent signifying long-term commitment to cooperation is a required submission material.

Risk Management

While not explicitly detailed, general Horizon Europe guidelines for risk management would apply, covering aspects like financial, operational, and technical risks.

Grant Details