Capacity building to strengthen networks of higher education institutions and cooperation with surrounding ecosystems
HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-05-01
- Programme
- European Excellence Initiative (EEI): Strengthening capacity for excellence in higher education institutions and surrounding ecosystems
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- June 29, 2021
- Deadline
- November 4, 2021
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €30,000,000
Description
The European Universities initiative, currently piloted under Erasmus+ and supported through Horizon 2020 has created enormous dynamism across higher education sector to jointly create critical mass and implement institutional transformation strategies towards universities of the future, involving also surrounding ecosystems. The European Universities will be drivers of a European Excellence Initiative in the future with a distinct widening module.
Through the European Excellence Initiative, Horizon Europe’s support aims at the transformation of higher education sector and their surrounding ecosystems, including non-university research centres. The Excellence Initiative would thereby mobilise local and regional government’s investments in higher education sector (in its broadest sense). It will also include research activities in strategically relevant domains with a centre of gravity in widening countries. The widening dimension and relevance will be closely monitored on the grounds of an overall distribution KPI.
Pending the evaluation of the European Universities pilot portfolio in 2021-2022, the European Excellence Initiative in 2021 will focus on capacity building for networks of higher education institutions and partners in the local ecosystem, with a view of preparing the networks towards the full roll-out of the European Universities initiative in the years to come as announced in the European Skills Agenda adopted by the Commission on 1 July 2020.
Further to its proposals adopted on 30 September 2020 for the new ERA for Research and Innovation and the European Education Area, supported by the Council in its Conclusions, the Commission will engage further with the sector towards developing a higher education transformation agenda.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
- Integrated and longer term cooperation between the partner higher education institutions (HEI) in the network, and with actors in surrounding ecosystems, jointly creating critical mass to contribute better to major societal challenges;
- Tangible progress towards institutional transformation / modernisation of HEI (in its broadest sense), including through pilots or study cases, with a particular emphasis on the entities located in widening countries;
- Strengthened cooperation with a view to raising excellence, global competitiveness, and general attractiveness for international talents and investments, including gender equality provisions; this includes preparations to embark onto the potential future European Universities initiative;
- Contribute to a portfolio of successful cooperation models for modernisation/ transformation at research and innovation level, in synergy with HEI’s education dimension; identify remaining barriers at regional/national/EU level hampering cooperation between HEI and modernisation of HEI; act as a regional role model of successful transformation;
- Facilitate future synergies between the European Education Area and the European Research Area, in particular in relation to the European Universities alliances.
The capacity building towards the European Excellence Initiative aims to significantly strengthening cooperation between at least two organisations from higher education sector in a Widening country (or different Widening countries), by linking it with at least two internationally-leading institutions from two different Member States or Associated Countries.
- Enhance the scientific and technological capacity of the linked institutions with a principal focus on the entities from the Widening Country/-ies;
- Help raise the excellence profile of the HEI from the Widening country as well as the excellence profile of its staff;
- Strengthen considerably the networks towards realising integrated cooperation between the participating entities in the research and innovation dimension, in synergy with the entities’ education and training dimensions.
Proposals are expected to clearly outline the cooperation and strategy for stepping up and stimulating scientific excellence and innovation capacity in defined areas of research and innovation as well as the scientific quality of the partners involved in the exercise. This strategy should include arrangements for institutional transformation according to a shared agenda that could include (a) developing shared research & innovation strategies and roadmaps to create directional and interdisciplinary critical mass, in order to more effectively create impact for society; (b) sharing capacity and resources, through collaborative settings preparing the network towards the establishment of a European Universities alliance or similar long-term network, (c) strengthening attractiveness of researchers’ careers, towards a pipeline of talents crucial for an effective European Research Area, including reform in career assessment; (d) co-operation with surrounding ecosystem actors for the transmission of knowledge and talents, e.g. through creation or reinforcing of technology transfer offices and cooperation platforms; (e) transition to knowledge- and digitally-driven universities, conducting Open Science; (f) creating proximity to and engaging citizens for solving societal challenges; (g) supporting institutional change through inclusive gender equality plans. Where relevant, any links with sustainable development objectives are to be outlined.
The way forward with and within the different priority areas for transformation of universities remains the choice of the beneficiaries. For all areas listed above, where appropriate, legal, regulatory, and financial barriers hampering cooperation among HEI in research and innovation as well as recommendations on the way forward should be identified. More detailed information, including examples of activities that can be supported within these different priority areas can be found in the accompanying information document [1], which is published together with this work programme.
The common strategy should include a comprehensive set of activities to be supported. These should include at least a number of the following: short term staff exchanges; expert visits and short-term on-site or virtual training; workshops; conference attendance; organisation of joint summer school type activities; dissemination and outreach activities; research management and administration; capacity building for research management and technology transfer; explorative research projects (led by widening partners) to develop new research strands etc.; capacity building for the application of open science practices.
Proposals should target the higher education sector; this may include any type of university, research organisations, academies of science, polytechnic universities, universities of applied science, and specialised public laboratories. HEI partners in surrounding ecosystems, such as businesses, societal actors or other non-academic entities are encouraged to be involved as partner organisations.
[1]https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2021/information_horizon-widera-2021-access-05-01_en.pdf
Destination & Scope
Introduction
The ERA Communication (COM(2020) 628 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0628&from=EN) has established the need of improving access to excellence as one of the four main strategic goals. In particular striving towards more excellence requires a stronger R&I system where best practice is disseminated faster across Europe. The strategic plan for Horizon Europe aims at underpinning geographical diversity, building the necessary capacity to allow successful participation in the R&I process and promoting networking and access to excellence thus optimising the impact of Pillar 2 and contributing to the objectives of the entire programme.
This destination will address “improving access to excellence” through a portfolio of complementary actions that aim at building up R&I capacities in widening countries, also through national and regional R&I reforms and investments, to enable them to advance to the competitive edge at European and international level. This portfolio constitutes the widening dimension of a broader European Excellence Initiative that reaches out beyond this programme part and will be implemented together with ERASMUS+.
Each of the five proposed actions is addressing a different target group of potential beneficiaries with a customised intervention logic. The use and appropriate design of partnerships with leading institutions abroad will be a key vector for accessing excellence. The intervention logic is designed to work points at a multitude of scales ranging from individual researcher through career development, focussed networks, institutional development to a systemic impact on national R&I systems.
Capacity building will go beyond purely scientific capacities since it includes the development of management and administrative capacities for the benefit of institutions (notably in Twinning and the Strengthening Capacities for Excellence in Universities) that are eager to take over consortium leadership roles especially under Pillar 2. Teaming actions will create new or modernise existing centers of excellence by means of a very close and strategic partnership with leading institutions abroad. The impact will be amplified by the conditionality of a securing a complementary investment (especially for infrastructure, building, hardware) from the structural funds or other sources. Once established the centres will function as lighthouses with far reaching impact and role models for attracting the best talents. Further, they will demonstrate the success of modern governance and management, and, hence stimulate generalised reforms in the national R&I environment.
In a complementary manner with a focus on the transformation of the academic and higher education system the university related scheme will foster reforms in widening countries embedded in dynamic European university alliances. Scientific excellence in the more traditional sense is the aim of Twinning where focused networks with excellent partners will develop new promising R&I domains and test novel approaches in smaller joint research projects.
Innovation excellence is the focus of excellence hubs where innovation ecosystems in widening countries and beyond will team up and strive for creating better linkages between academia, business, government and society that will foster a real placed based innovation culture in widening countries on the grounds of a strategic agenda in line with regional or national smart specialisation strategies. In this context, synergies will be sought with the programme parts on European Innovation Ecosystems and the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT).
Furthermore, research and innovation performance is correlated with the efficiency of the national research and innovation system and the capacity and the effectiveness of the National Contact Points (NCPs). Special attention should be given to the less experienced entities in low R&I performing countries to bridge the knowledge gap and rapidly acquire know-how accumulated in other countries thus enabling better access to funding opportunities in the EU Framework Programmes and beyond.
A dedicated support mechanism is envisaged in this Work programme part with the specific objective to strengthen the activities of NCPs to support international networking and to improve the quality of proposals from legal entities from low R&I performing countries.
The NCP action will include the establishment of an NCP network for the ERA component of this work programme part.
In addition, particular attention will be paid to cross-cutting objectives set for Horizon Europe, such as gender equality and open science practices, through the different funded actions.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impacts:
- Increased science and innovation capacities for all actors in the R&I system in widening countries
- Structural changes leading to a modernised and more competitive R&I systems in eligible countries
- Reformed R&I systems and institutions leading also to increased attractiveness and retention of research talents
- Mobilisation of national and European resources for strategic investments
- Higher participation success in Horizon Europe and more consortium leadership roles
- Stronger linkages between academia and business and improved career permeability
- Strengthened role of the Higher Education sector in research and innovation
- Greater involvement of regional actors in R&I process
- Improved outreach to international scale for all actors
- A more consistent level of NCP support services across Europe
- An improved and professionalised NCPs in the widening countries, that would help simplify access to Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and raising the average quality of proposals submitted.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: 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 eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
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.
Entities who already benefit from the European Universities initiative pilot funding of Horizon 2020 can participate, but are excluded from receiving funding through this action.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
5. Evaluation and award:
- Award 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: 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
7. Specific conditions: described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE CSA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)
MGA
Call-specific instructions
Essential Information for Clinical Studies
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 13. General Annexes
HE Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
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