HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-01-WIDENING-01

Teaming Synergies

Status
open for submission
Programme
Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
Action type
HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Opens
23 Apr 2026
Deadline
24 Sep 2026
Fetched
15 Jul 2026, 07:18 UTC
Plain-language summary

Support sustainability and impact of Teaming Centres of Excellence in Widening countries through strategic collaboration and innovation.

This call funds actions to strengthen collaboration among Teaming Centres of Excellence (CoE) in Widening countries. It aims to enhance their sustainability, research capacity, and impact on European and global challenges. Activities include clustering, networking, capacity building, and promoting entrepreneurship over a 5-year period.

Likely relevant for

  • Research institutions coordinating Teaming Centres of Excellence
  • Organizations experienced in sustaining research centres
  • Entities involved in knowledge valorisation and innovation support
  • Consortia with geographic coverage of Widening countries

Project signals

Focus on strategic clustering and thematic collaborationActivities supporting structural reforms and policy engagementPromotion of entrepreneurship and tech transfer

What it funds

  • Collaboration and clustering of Teaming Centres of Excellence in Widening countries
  • Capacity building for knowledge valorisation and entrepreneurship
  • Networking events, matchmaking, and policy forums
  • Development of digital platforms and international conferences
  • Support for spin-offs, start-ups, and technology transfer

Expected outcomes

  • Stronger long-term collaboration and resource sharing among Teaming CoEs
  • Strategic transformation of R&I systems and structural reforms
  • Promotion of multidisciplinary and transnational cooperation
  • Enhanced visibility and recognition of CoEs at multiple levels
  • Improved synergies with national and EU programmes

Who can apply / participate

  • Legal entities established in Widening countries
  • Coordinators of Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe Teaming actions
  • Consortium should cover all past, existing, and future Teaming CoEs
  • Complementary expertise in communication, training, IPR encouraged
  • Focus on Widening countries as defined in Horizon Europe regulation
  • Coordinator must have prior experience coordinating a Teaming CoE
  • Participation limited to eligible countries per Horizon Europe rules
  • Specific consortium size and composition requirements
  • Exact list of eligible Widening countries

Must check before shortlisting

  • Eligibility limited to coordinators established in Widening countries with prior Teaming CoE coordination
  • Consortium must demonstrate geographic coverage of Teaming CoEs
  • Budget and duration details to confirm fit

Money

Total indicative budget is EUR 7 million for one grant in 2026.

  • Total EU contribution — 7000000EUR
    Indicative budget for the topic

Application notes

  • Single-stage submission model.
  • Proposal page limits and layout as per Horizon Europe General Annexes and Application Form.
  • Eligibility conditions detailed in Horizon Europe General Annexes.
  • Financial and operational capacity requirements per Horizon Europe rules.
  • Evaluation criteria and procedures described in Horizon Europe General Annexes.
  • Prepare proposal following Application Form and guidelines.
  • Ensure coordinator eligibility as per call conditions.
  • Submit proposal by deadline 24 September 2026 via Funding & Tenders Portal.
  • Coordinator must be legal entity in Widening country with prior Teaming CoE coordination experience.
  • Consortium must demonstrate geographic coverage of Teaming CoEs.
  • Use existing services to avoid duplication.

Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 22 Jun 2026, 17:03 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.

Related calls

These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.

Official source text

Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.

Topic description

Expected Outcome: The Synergy action for Teaming Centres of Excellence (CoE) responds to the need to ensure the sustainability of CoE funded under the Teaming calls [1] . The establishment of CoE in Widening countries, supported by a significant investment in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, has created new opportunities for scientific, societal, and economic impact. However, to fully capitalise on this investment and enhance the sustainability and international competitiveness of these CoE, it is essential to facilitate stronger collaboration and strategic joint initiatives among them. Proposals are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes: Stronger long-term collaboration among Teaming CoE through structured joint initiatives and clustering efforts to enhance mutual learning, resource sharing, and collective research and innovation capacity; Strategic transformation of R&I systems by enhancing institutional cooperation and supporting structural reforms at national and regional levels; Promotion of multidisciplinary and transnational cooperation that will enable CoE to address critical European and global challenges, and EU policy priorities; Promote ERA priorities such as responsible AI usage, knowledge valorisation, commercialization, and entrepreneurial activities, such as SMEs and start-ups, within the CoE to maximise economic and societal impact; Stronger visibility of CoE and their recognition at national, regional, and European levels through structured engagement with industry, policymakers, and society; Improved synergies between CoE and national and EU programmes to leverage additional funding opportunities and policy support. Scope: The call topic aims at fostering collaboration among Teaming Centres of Excellence, both existing ones and those resulting from ongoing or future calls, in view of supporting their efforts towards sustainability and increased impact at the regional, national and European level. Proposals are expected to include at least the following activities: Strategic Clustering for thematic collaboration: Conducting an in-depth analysis of CoE capacities, research domains, innovation potential, and their role in national and regional quadruple helixes. The aim is to define strategic clusters addressing common research and innovation challenges, supporting EU priorities, and contributing to policy reforms. Pilot implementation of thematic clusters: Establish clusters and support the coordinated implementation of activities, building e.g. on geographically distributed research capacities and infrastructures, interdisciplinary research collaborations, policy support for national and/or institutional R&I reform, or entrepreneurship-focused activities. Capacity building for knowledge valorisation: Offering specialised training, peer learning, expert coaching, and workshops to improve CoE expertise in knowledge valorisation. Networking and matchmaking: Organising dedicated matchmaking events, policy forums, and startup pitching events to connect CoE with industry, investors, and policymakers, supporting their market outreach and strategic partnerships. Teaming online platform: Developing a digital networking platform to improve cooperation among CoE, provide access to shared resources, showcase success stories, and facilitate continuous interaction between research institutions, industry, and policymakers. Teaming conference: Establish the conference as an internationally recognized event, stimulating cross-fertilization of scientific ideas, promoting industry-academia collaborations, attracting international talents and rewarding early-career researchers through Teaming awards. Entrepreneurship and tech transfer support: Encouraging the creation of spin-offs and start-ups, licensing opportunities, and investment-readiness initiatives to ensure research outputs lead to marketable innovations. To achieve the expected outcomes, the consortium is expected to provide a comprehensive range of expertise commensurate with the proposed activities. A core of the consortium should be able to demonstrate successful implementation of sustainability strategies of a Teaming CoE. Complementary members of the consortium can provide specific expertise on e.g. communication, training, knowledge valorisation and IPR issues. The consortium should to demonstrate a geographical coverage of its activities that is able to reach all past, existing and future Teaming CoEs that wish to participate in the activities and benefit from the services offered by the consortium. The consortium is encouraged to maximise the use of existing services and facilities, such as the Widening Dissemination and Exploitation Support Facility, to avoid duplication and creation of competing services. In order to assess the efficient and effective implementation of the proposed activities a set of key performance indicators tailored to the objectives of the action should be outlined in the proposal. The duration of this action should be 5 years. [1] In June 2022, the European Court of Auditors in its report recommended the Commission to ensure the sustainability of the Teaming Centres of Excellence.

Conditions and documents

General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

3. Other Eligible Conditions

In order to achieve the expected outcomes, participation as coordinators to the call is limited to legal entities established in Widening countries, as defined in the Horizon Europe regulation, that have been or are coordinator of a Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe Teaming action. Achiving the objectives of this topic requires in-depth knowledge of creating and sustaining a teaming centre of excellence that only a coordinator with this kind of experience can provide.

Other conditions are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes

are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement

described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions

The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.

The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.

Support information

Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant. Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe. Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management. Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular. National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’). Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding. IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues. CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal. The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers. Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.

Raw budget overview
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