HORIZON-WIDERA-2027-03-WIDENING-01

ERA Fellowships

Status
forthcoming
Programme
Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
Action type
HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Opens
7 Apr 2027
Deadline
8 Sep 2027
Fetched
15 Jul 2026, 07:18 UTC
Plain-language summary

ERA Fellowships support postdoctoral researchers moving to Widening countries for career development and research excellence.

This call funds postdoctoral fellowships for researchers moving to Widening countries in Europe. Fellowships support research, training, and career development. They encourage international mobility, interdisciplinary work, and placements in non-academic sectors.

Likely relevant for

  • Postdoctoral researchers seeking mobility to Widening countries
  • Host institutions in Widening countries
  • Researchers interested in interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral projects
  • Applicants aiming for career development in academia or beyond

Project signals

Includes secondments or non-academic placementsTraining on transferable skills and innovationCareer Development Plan includedAlignment with European Charter for Researchers

What it funds

  • Postdoctoral fellowships for excellent researchers moving to Widening countries
  • Cross-border mobility within EU or from outside to Widening countries
  • Secondments up to one third of fellowship duration worldwide
  • Optional non-academic sector placements up to six months
  • Training on transferable skills, innovation, open science, and research integrity
  • Career Development Plan jointly developed by researcher and supervisor

Expected outcomes

  • Enhanced research and transferable skills of fellows
  • Improved employability and career prospects inside and outside academia
  • New mindsets from international, inter-sectoral, interdisciplinary experience
  • Increased networking and communication capacities
  • Improved working conditions and research quality in Widening countries
  • Increased attractiveness and reputation of Widening country organisations
  • More postdoctoral researchers attracted to Widening countries with competitive grants

Who can apply / participate

  • Postdoctoral researchers of any nationality
  • Legal entities in academic or non-academic sectors located in Widening countries
  • Application must be joint by researcher and host organisation
  • Host organisation must be in a Widening country
  • Researchers can come from any country worldwide or move within EU to Widening country
  • Host organisation location in Widening country is mandatory
  • Secondments and placements have specific duration limits
  • Career Development Plan required
  • Exact list of eligible Widening countries to be checked in Annex B
  • Specific exceptions in MSCA Work Programme

Must check before shortlisting

  • Eligibility of host organisation location
  • Specific conditions in MSCA Work Programme
  • Budget limits and grant size
  • Submission deadlines and application format

Money

Total budget around €8 million for 2027, funding approximately 50 fellowships. Grants range from €100,000 to €500,000 per fellowship.

  • Total budget for 2027 — 8000000EUR
    Estimated budget for this call year
  • Expected number of grants — 50
    Approximate number of fellowships to be awarded
  • Minimum grant per fellowship — 100000EUR
    Minimum funding per fellowship
  • Maximum grant per fellowship — 500000EUR
    Maximum funding per fellowship

Application notes

  • Single-stage submission model.
  • Proposal page limits and layout as per Horizon Europe General Annexes and Application Form.
  • Host organisation must be located in a Widening country.
  • Evaluation criteria and thresholds as described in Horizon Europe General Annexes.
  • Specific MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships conditions apply.
  • Career Development Plan must be submitted as a deliverable.
  • Optional non-academic placement requests must be justified and evaluated.
  • Prepare joint application with host organisation in Widening country.
  • Include Career Development Plan and training activities.
  • Optionally include secondments and non-academic placements with justification.
  • Submit proposal by deadline using the Funding & Tenders Portal.
  • Follow evaluation and award procedures as per Horizon Europe guidelines.
  • Check eligibility of host organisation location carefully.
  • Ensure compliance with MSCA specific conditions.
  • Non-academic placements are optional and subject to evaluation.
  • Secondments cannot exceed one third of fellowship duration.

Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 22 Jun 2026, 17:06 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: This action builds on the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2027 action (HORIZON-MSCA-PF-2027). The target group are host organisations located in Widening countries. Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes : For supported ERA Fellows: Increased set of research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved employability and career prospects of fellows within academia and beyond; New mind-sets and approaches to R&I work forged through international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary experience; Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as with the general public, that will increase and broaden the research and innovation impact; For participating organisations in the Widening countries: Increased alignment of working conditions for researchers in accordance with the principles set out in the European Charter for Researchers [1] ; Enhanced quality and sustainability of research training and supervision; Increased global attractiveness, visibility and reputation; Stronger R&I capacity and output; better transfer of knowledge. For Widening Countries: More postdoctoral researchers attracted to Widening countries with competitive grants and attractive working and employment conditions. Scope: Fellowships should be provided to excellent researchers, undertaking cross-border mobility. Applications must be made jointly by the researcher together with a legal entity in the academic or non-academic sector located in a Widening country. ERA Fellowships should take place in a Widening Country. Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality who wish to engage in R&I projects by either coming to the EU from any country in the world or moving within the EU to a Widening country. Secondments Researchers receiving an ERA Fellowship may opt to include a secondment phase, within the overall duration of their fellowship in any country worldwide. The secondment phase can be a single period or be divided into shorter mobility periods. Secondments cannot exceed one third of the standard fellowship duration and should be in line with the project objectives, adding significant value and impact to the fellowship. Placements in the non-academic sector ERA Fellowships can provide an additional period of up to six months to support researchers opting for a placement at the end of the project to work on R&I projects in an organisation from the non-academic sector established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. While this possibility is also available to fellows recruited in the non-academic sector, such a placement should be implemented at a different non-academic host organisation established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. The request for such a non-academic placement should be an integral part of the proposal, explaining the added value for the project and for the career development of the researcher, and will be subject to evaluation. This incentive aims at promoting career moves between sectors and organisations and thereby stimulate innovation and knowledge transfer while expanding career opportunities for researchers. Training activities The training activities implemented under the ERA Fellowships should include training for key transferable skills [2] , foster innovation and entrepreneurship, (e.g., commercialisation of results, Intellectual Property Rights, communication, public engagement and citizen science), foster good scientific conduct such as research integrity and promote Open Science practices (open access to publications and to other research outputs, including data, FAIR data management, societal engagement and citizen science, etc.). Career Development Plan In order to equip ERA Fellows with skills that enhance and expand their career opportunities inside and outside academia, a Career Development Plan should be established jointly by the supervisor(s) and the researcher. In addition to research objectives, this plan should comprise the researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching, planning for publications and participation in conferences and events aiming at opening science and research to citizens. The Plan has to be submitted as a project deliverable at the beginning of the action and can be updated when needed. [1] Charter for Researchers, annexed to the Council recommendation C/2023/1640 of 18 December 2023 on a European framework to attract and retain research, innovation and entrepreneurial talents in Europe (OJ C, C/2023/1640, 29.12.2023), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C_202301640. [2] As an illustration, Eurodoc published a list of such transferable skills at: http://eurodoc.net/skills-report-2018.pdf

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

See these exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme part.

To be eligible to this call the host organisation must be located in a Widening country.

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

Seals of Excellence will be awarded to applications exceeding all of the evaluation thresholds set out in this work programme but which cannot be funded due to lack of budget available to the call.

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

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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