Pillar Ii: Piloting Innovative Approaches To Support Academic Startups And Spinoffs
HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-04
- Programme
- Enhancing the European R&I system
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Open (31094502)
- Opening Date
- December 10, 2025
- Deadline
- March 12, 2026
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €4,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €2,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €2,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 2
- Keywords
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-04HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06
Description
Expected Outcome:
Proposals will deliver on the impact of “Stronger translation of R&I results into society and economy”, contributing to the ERA Structural Policy “Upscaling knowledge valorisation capacities and activities”. Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
- Upgraded guidance and services for supporting early-stage academic spinoffs and startups to bring their innovative solutions to market;
- Tested and shared innovative valorisation best practices addressing the needs of early-stage academic spinoffs and startups for engaging with industry, societal actors, and end-users.
Scope:
The objective of this topic is to strengthen ecosystems for knowledge valorisation and innovation by supporting academic startups and spinoffs to benefit from end-user feedback and links to industry and society. The topic supports the objectives of the Startup and Scaleup Strategy[1] by fostering the market uptake of innovative solutions.
Academic startups and spinoffs need access to excellent support services to commercialise their research and bring their innovations to market. Beyond technology validation, there is a need to test the desirability of their products and services with a broader public, learn from citizens’ feedback, and adapt and improve their value propositions to improve their prospects for collaborating with industrial partners, attracting investors, and growing locally and internationally.
A variety of organisations – such as science parks, technology parks, living labs, hubs, and practitioners in citizen engagement for knowledge valorisation – engage societal actors in experimentation practices that aim to support, at an early stage, the market uptake and growth of university spinoffs and startups. To be effective, such practices need to align with the fast pace of innovation and integrate skills and methods from different areas, drawing also from the social sciences and humanities, and the arts and design. To achieve the expected outcomes, proposals should address the activities outlined below and propose any additional, complementary activities:
- At least 20 pilot actions across Europe enabling university spinoffs and technology startups to link up to end-users, societal actors, industry, and other stakeholders to boost market uptake and growth.
- Development of guidance and services, including methodologies and best practices to support spinoffs and startups, where testing and validating their innovative solutions to better fit society and the market is important.
Proposals should describe their target group in terms of its scope and size. A wide geographical coverage, inclusivity, broad participation, and accessibility should be ensured. In project activities, particular attention should be paid to promoting inclusive gender equality and addressing gender-specific challenges.
Projects are expected to contribute to the EU Knowledge Valorisation Platform, which highlights best practices for knowledge valorisation. Additionally, projects are expected to establish synergies with ongoing projects under the topic “Experimentation and exchange of good practices for value creation”[2], taking their results into account.
Expected project duration is up to 2 years without prejudice to a longer duration if justified.
[2] Funded under HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-03 and HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-ERA-01-05.
Destination & Scope
The guiding policy framework of this destination is the Communication "A New ERA for Research and Innovation"[1], the Council Recommendation on the Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe (Pact for R&I)[2], and the European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda (2025-2027)[3]. The funded actions will strengthen the ERA by promoting the freedom of movement of researchers, scientific knowledge, and technology and by providing new evidence for better-informed policymaking. More details on the ERA policy framework are in the introduction to the WIDERA work programme 2026-2027.
The EU Member States, Associated Countries, R&I stakeholders, and the Commission work together to implement the ERA. This process is steered by the ERA Policy Agenda, which identifies specific ERA Actions (time-limited initiatives) and Structural Policies (long-term policies) designed to tackle concrete challenges faced by R&I communities in Europe. This work programme is designed to support this process. The funded actions will build knowledge and capacities at the level of institutions and ecosystems to adopt reforms and practices in line with the ERA Policy Agenda, thereby contributing to the implementation of the ERA.
The destination will be implemented in synergy with the European Higher Education Area and the European Education Area, especially in relation to R&I careers and institutional changes in universities and research organisations. Several call topics and other actions will also contribute to the implementation of the European framework for research careers[4].
The destination includes two calls with 13 topics in total as well as other actions, targeting a wide range of R&I stakeholders, e.g., universities, research performing and funding organisations, research evaluation agencies, networks of researchers, publishers, industry and start-ups, policymakers, local authorities, and public bodies.
The effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines is encouraged under this destination, including the involvement of SSH experts, institutions, and the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, to enhance the societal impact of project activities.
The ERA Platform showcases results from Horizon Europe-funded projects, making them available to a wide range of stakeholders to facilitate progress in ERA policy areas. Applicants are encouraged to consider these results as well as propose new tools, resources, and visual material that can be featured on the platform.
All topics in the 2026 and 2027 ERA calls are organised around four pillars, designed to enable the funded projects to strengthen R&I capacities across four complementary dimensions while addressing selected ERA Actions and Structural Policies. The table below summarises this approach, making it easier for applicants to choose their preferred policy area and type of activity. Each call topic title refers to its corresponding pillar.
2026 and 2027 ERA calls: pillar structure
| Pillar I: Institutional changes for ERA | Pillar II: Ecosystems for ERA |
| Type: coordination and support actions Focus: capacity building and support to foster adoption of ERA policies/practices within institutions. Activity types: providing tools, resources, training, services, and policy advice. Policy areas:
| Type: coordination and support actions Focus: building and reinforcing networks and partnerships to foster broad uptake of ERA policies/practices. Activity types: exchanging knowledge and practice, networking and cooperative actions. Policy areas:
|
| Pillar III: Citizens and science in ERA | Pillar IV: New knowledge for ERA |
| Type: coordination and support actions Focus: connecting R&I with citizens and other stakeholders. Activity types: implementing and promoting participatory approaches, such as citizen engagement and citizen science. Policy areas:
| Type: research and innovation actions Focus: creating new knowledge that supports design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and practices. Activity types: conducting analyses, developing and testing new methods and practices. Policy areas:
|
Proposals under this destination should set out a credible pathway to one or several of the following expected impacts:
- Effective and sustainable structural institutional changes aligned with the ERA priorities;
- Sustainable ecosystems established around the ERA priorities through enhanced cooperation, coordination and alignment;
- Increased trust in science and alignment of R&I with society’s needs;
- Strengthened evidence base for advancing the implementation of the ERA;
- Increased reproducibility, trustworthiness and transparency of scientific research;
- A more open, equitable and inclusive research and innovation ecosystem;
- A research ethics and integrity ecosystem continually enhanced with robust methodologies that encourage benefit sharing and prevent ethics dumping;
- Systemic reform of research assessment through the recognition of the diverse outputs, practices, and activities which maximise the quality and impact of research;
- Improved research careers and mobility, based on the European framework for research careers, fostering knowledge flows and career interoperability across sectors and countries;
- Stronger translation of R&I results into society and economy;
- Enhanced gender equality and inclusiveness, leading to research excellence and more innovative, socially relevant, and economically impactful outcomes;
- Increased uptake, effectiveness and impact of environmentally sustainable research;
- More resilient and future-proof R&I policies and long-term strategies with effectively integrated strategic intelligence and strengthened foresight communities;
- A more strategic, coherent, and evidence-based approach towards cooperation with China in the area of science, technology, and innovation.
[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0628&from=EN.
[2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021H2122.
[3] https://european-research-area.ec.europa.eu/era-policy-agenda-2025-2027.
[4] Council Recommendation of 18 December 2023 on a European framework to attract and retain research, innovation and entrepreneurial talents in Europe, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/1640/oj.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
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
Applications must be submitted by a consortium including participation, as beneficiaries, of at least three independent legal entities: Each established in a different Member State or Associated Country; and two of which are established in a Member State.
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
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE CSA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)
Guidance
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Call-specific instructions
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Frequently Asked Questions About Pillar Ii: Piloting Innovative Approaches To Support Academic Startups And Spinoffs
Support & Resources
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.
Latest Updates
If your lump sum budget contains any cost items in cost category C and/or D, please make sure to justify these items in the ‘Any comments’ sheet of the Excel detailed lump sum budget table.
The reason is that we simplified the proposal template, removing this information from Part B and bringing it closer to the relevant budget items.
Specifically, you must include justification in the ‘Any comments’ sheet if you are in any of the following situations:
- If the sum of the costs for ’travel and subsistence’, ‘equipment’, and ‘other goods, works and services’ (i.e. the purchase costs) exceeds 15% of the personnel costs for a participant. If this is the case, justify the most expensive cost item(s) up to the level that the remaining costs are below 15% of personnel costs.
- If other cost categories (e.g. internally invoiced goods and services) are used.
- If in-kind contributions are used (non-financial resources made available free of charge by third parties, which must be included as direct costs in the corresponding cost category, e.g. personnel costs or purchase costs for equipment).