Pillar III: Fostering citizen engagement for more responsible and democratic R&I

Closed

Code: 38916 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-05 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/12/2025 | End submission calls: 12/03/2026

This topic aims to connect R&I with citizens and other stakeholders by fostering greater citizen engagement, participation, and science communication.

Proposals will contribute to the impact of “Increasing trust in science and alignment of R&I with society’s needs, expectations and values”, thereby enhancing the democratic character and impact of science in the ERA.

Pillar II: Piloting innovative approaches to support academic startups and spinoffs

Closed

Code: 38914 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-04 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/12/2025 | End submission calls: 12/03/2026

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 by fostering the market uptake of innovative solutions.

Pillar II: Strengthening ecosystems for open, ethical, and sustainable ERA

Closed

Code: 38912 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-03 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/12/2025 | End submission calls: 12/03/2026

This topic aims to promote the adoption of ERA policies and practices, contributing to sustainable ecosystems established around ERA priorities through enhanced cooperation, coordination and alignment.

The topic helps to create new or enhance existing ecosystems through activities such as networking and cooperative action, knowledge exchange and dissemination, tools, training, and policy advice.

Pillar I: Building institutional capacities for ethical, equitable, open, and inclusive ERA

Closed

Code: 38910 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-02 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/12/2025 | End submission calls: 12/03/2026

This topic aims to foster effective and sustainable structural institutional changes within R&I organisations in alignment with the ERA priorities.

It supports the adoption of ERA policies and practices within institutions through capacity-building activities, such as the provision of tools, resources, recommendations, training, and exchange of good practices.

Pillar I: Accelerating open access and research assessment reforms in ERA

Closed

Code: 38907 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/12/2025 | End submission calls: 12/03/2026

This topic aims to foster effective and sustainable structural institutional changes within R&I organisations in alignment with the ERA priorities.

Through financial support to third parties (cascading grants), it will enable a variety of capacity-building activities, such as the provision of tools, resources, guidelines, training, and quality assurance programmes.

Cooperation Partnerships

Closed

Code: 38904 | Identifier Code: ERASMUS-SPORT-2026-SCP | Programme name: 2918 | Sub-program: Key Action 2 (KA2) – Cooperation among organisations and institutions | Start submission calls: 18/12/2025 | End submission calls: 05/03/2026

The primary goal of Cooperation Partnerships is to allow organisations to increase the quality and relevance of their activities, to develop and reinforce their networks of partners, to increase their capacity to operate jointly at transnational level, boosting internationalisation of their activities and through exchanging or developing new practices and methods as well as sharing and confronting ideas.

They aim to support the development, transfer and/or implementation of innovative practices as well as the implementation of joint initiatives promoting cooperation, peer learning and exchanges of experience at European level. Results should be re-usable, transferable, upscalable and, if possible, have a strong transdisciplinary dimension.

Small-scale Partnerships

Closed

Code: 38902 | Identifier Code: ERASMUS-SPORT-2026-SSCP | Programme name: 2918 | Sub-program: Key Action 2 (KA2) – Cooperation among organisations and institutions | Start submission calls: 18/12/2025 | End submission calls: 05/03/2026

Small-scale Partnerships are designed to widen access to the programme to small-scale actors and individuals who are hard to reach in the fields of school education, adult education, vocational education and training, youth and sport. With lower grant amounts awarded to organisations, shorter duration and simpler administrative requirements compared to the Cooperation Partnerships, this action aims at reaching out to grassroots organisations, less experienced organisations and newcomers to the Programme, reducing entry barriers to the programme for organisations with smaller organisational capacity.

This action will also support flexible formats – mixing activities with transnational and national character although with a European dimension – allowing organisations to have more means to reach out to people with fewer opportunities. Small-scale Partnerships can also contribute to the creation and development of transnational networks and to fostering synergies with, and between, local, regional, national and international policies.

Not-for-profit European sport events

Closed

Code: 38899 | Identifier Code: ERASMUS-SPORT-2026-SNCESE | Programme name: 2918 | Sub-program: Key Action 2 (KA2) – Cooperation among organisations and institutions | Start submission calls: 18/12/2025 | End submission calls: 05/03/2026

This Action aims to support the organisation of sport events with a European dimension in the following fields:

• volunteering in sport;
• social inclusion through sport;
• fight against discrimination in sport, including gender equality;
• encouraging healthy lifestyles for all: projects under this priority will mainly focus on:
  1. the implementation of the three pillars of the HealthyLifestyle4All initiative;
  2. the implementation of the Council Recommendation on health-enhancing physical activity and the EU Physical Activity Guidelines;
  3. the support to the implementation of the European Week of Sport;
  4. the promotion of sport and physical activity as a tool for health;
  5. the promotion of all activities encouraging the practice of sport and physical activity;
  6. promotion of traditional sport and games.

Capacity Building in the Field of Sport

Closed

Code: 38897 | Identifier Code: ERASMUS-SPORT-2026-CB | Programme name: 2918 | Sub-program: Key Action 2 (KA2) – Cooperation among organisations and institutions | Start submission calls: 10/12/2025 | End submission calls: 05/03/2026

Capacity Building projects are international cooperation projects based on multilateral partnerships between organisations active in the field of sport in Programme and third countries not associated to the Programme in Region 1 (Western Balkans) and Region 2 (Neighbourhood East).

They aim to support sport activities and policies in third countries not associated to the Programme as a vehicle to promote values as well as an educational tool to promote the personal and social development of individuals and build more cohesive communities.

MSCA COFUND 2026

Closed

Code: 38892 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MSCA-2026-COFUND-01-01 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 16/12/2025 | End submission calls: 08/04/2026

Applicants submit proposals for new or existing doctoral or postdoctoral programmes with an impact on the enhancement of human resources in R&I at regional, national or international level. These programmes will be co-funded by MSCA COFUND.

Proposed programmes can cover any research disciplines (“bottom-up”), but exceptionally can also focus on specific disciplines, notably when they are based on national or regional Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3 strategies). In this case, the range of covered disciplines should allow reasonable flexibility for the researchers to define their topic.

Funding synergies with Cohesion Policy Funds and other EU funding sources are strongly encouraged.

A Career Development Plan must be jointly established by the supervisor and each recruited researcher upon recruitment. In addition to research objectives, this Plan comprises the researcher’s training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching, planning for publications and participation in conferences and events aimed at opening science and research to citizens. The Plan must be established at the beginning of the recruitment and should be revised (and updated where needed) within 18 months.

Partnerships for Excellence: European Universities – European Degree exploratory action

Closed

Code: 38890 | Identifier Code: ERASMUS-EDU-2025-PE-EUED | Programme name: 2918 | Start submission calls: 17/12/2025 | End submission calls: 17/03/2026

Partnerships for Excellence support projects with a long-term sustainable perspective. This action aims at fostering excellence in higher education by supporting higher education institutions in the design, adaptation, and implementation of innovative and inclusive transnational joint programmes at bachelor, master, or doctoral levels, aligned with the criteria for the joint European degree label, as set out in Annex II of the Council Recommendation on a European Quality Assurance and Recognition System in Higher Education.

AI in Government

Closed

Code: 38888 | Identifier Code: AIINGOVT/0725 - Challenge 4 | Programme name: 2941 | Start submission calls: 01/12/2025 | End submission calls: 27/02/2026

The challenge of the Department of Public Passenger Transport of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works (MTCW), within the framework of the “AI in Gov’t” Program, concerns the smart optimization of the Public Transport Network.

The need to upgrade the public transport system is critical for sustainable mobility, reducing traffic congestion, lowering emissions and enhancing social cohesion. Despite significant improvements in recent years, the system still faces limitations regarding efficiency and reliability for citizens.

This challenge is fully aligned with the strategies outlined in the “Strategic Framework” section below, the promotion of which is a priority for the Republic of Cyprus and, by extension, the MTCW. These strategies reflect the intention for further development of Bus Public Transport Services and the promotion of their use by all citizens.