The Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) would like to inform interested parties of the Calls for Proposals of the Horizontal Priority ‘Widening Participation & Strengthening the ERA‘ of the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation “Horizon Europe” 2021-2027 (Destinations 1 and 2). More specifically, the Horizontal Priority “Widening Participation & Strengthening the ERA”, within the Work Program 2023-24, is divided into two main Modules: the first Module which concerns “Widening Participation and the Spread of Excellence” and the second Module concerning the “Strengthening of the European Research Area”.
The Calls for Proposals are divided into two Destinations presented as follows:
Destination 1 – «Improved Access to Excellence»
Under the specific Destination, the following Calls for Proposals are presented:
| Call | Description | Deadline Dates |
| Teaming for Excellence | The aim is to support the creation of new Centers of Excellence or serious upgrading of existing ones in ‘widening’ countries, based on collaborations between leading scientific institutions in Europe (advanced partners / leading institutions) and bodies / institutions (main beneficiaries) in countries with low performance in R&D. | 12 April 2023 |
| Twinning | The aim is to achieve research excellence in Research Centers in Widening Countries, through their networking and collaboration with at least two world-renowned research Organizations based in two different member countries or Horizon Europe Partner countries. In the Work Program 2023-24 , the E.E. expects to announce two Call for proposals «Twinning»: (α) Twinning Bottom-up (HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ACCESS-02-01) και (β) Twinning Green Deal (HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ACCESS-02-02). | 28 September 2023 |
| Excellence Hubs | The objective of the Call is to empower regional innovative excellence, enabling a cross-border collaboration of quadruple helix ecosystems. | 7 March 2024 |
| European Excellence Initiative | The aim is to transform the higher education sector and surrounding ecosystems, including non-university research centres. | 12 April 2023 |
| Hop – On Facility | The Call enables entities from Widening countries to join Horizon Europe funded projects, provided that no entity from these countries already participates in the network. The tool only covers ‘Research and Innovation Actions (RIA)’ Projects of Pillar II or the ‘EIC Pathfinder’ Program of Horizon Europe. | 28 September 2023 |
Destination 2 – Attracting and Mobilising the Best Talents
Under the specific Destination, the following Calls for Proposals are presented:
| ERA CHAIRS | The aim is to attract high-level research potential in Universities and Research Organizations located in Widening Countries which should lead the Proposals. | 7 March 2024 |
| ERA FELLOWSHIPS | The Call is based on the “MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships (HORIZON-MSCA-PF-2022)” Action of the “Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions” Program 2023-24. The main beneficiaries are young researchers of any nationality and host institutions of “widening” countries. | 13 September 2023 |
| ERA TALENTS | The Call concerns the attraction of talent to Organizations in the Widening countries, with the aim of strengthening the innovative inter-sectoral collaboration of talents in all R&D sectors, through the exchange of (cross-sectoral) personnel. | 26 September 2024 |
For more information on the Invitations, as well as on the ‘Widening Participation & Strengthening the ERA’ Program, those interested can contact the relevant National Contact Points of Cyprus Ms. Konstantina Makri, (tel.: 22205054, e-mail: cmakri@research.org.cy) or Ms Marcia Trillidou (tel.: 22205071, e-mail: trillidou@research.org.cy).