widerAdvance Facility Open call

The main objective of the open call is to select beneficiaries to be supported through the personalised services of the widerAdvance Facility.

The Open Call was officially launched on 28/05/2025 and will remain open until 30/06/2028, allowing potential beneficiaries to apply at any time. During the Open Call specific cut-off dates will be set to collect and assess the received applications and deliver the different services of the widerAdvance Facility. It is important for applicants to always check when the next cut-off date has been set and submit their applications accordingly.

Who can apply

Beneficiaries of the widerAdvance Facility are single organisations registered as legal entities and based in one of the eligible Widening countries (Western Balkans included).

IMPORTANT: particular priorities on eligible applicants may be determined during the Open Call and modified at each cut-off date. Applicants are strongly recommended to always check actual priorities at a specific cut-off date.

Who/What will receive support

The services of the widerAdvance Facility focus on building capacities of Research Teams (RTs) and Research & Administration Management (RMAs) of applicant organisations. In particular, supported RTs have to be responsible for the valorisation of Key Exploitable Results (KER) stemming directly or indirectly from Widening actions (ongoing or closed).

In this context, the following definitions apply:

• KER: is a significant output, innovation, or technological/scientific advancement developed by beneficiaries of Widening actions under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, either directly through the widening action or indirectly within its thematic context. These results should have substantial potential for practical application and exploitation. KERs encompass a broad range of results, including technological advancements and research findings, that can lead to tangible benefits and improvements, including institutional changes. In the Widening context, KERs may also include broader impacts such as enhancements in institutional capacities, policy developments, and systemic changes that facilitate the uptake and application of research results.
• Widening action: projects funded under: COST Actions; ERA Chairs; ERA Talents; Excellence Hubs; European Excellence Initiative; Hop-on facility; Pathways to synergies; Teaming for Excellence (Phase 2 in Horizon 2020); Teaming for Excellence (Stage-2 in Horizon Europe); Twinning; Twinning for Western Balkans; Widening/ERA Fellowship (H2020/HE).
• Direct KER: is a KER generated directly through the implementation of the activities funded under a Widening action.
• Indirect KER: are produced as a follow up of a previous Widening action, even if they are generated from a different funding programme. They are generally in the same research domain as the original Widening action. For example, if a university is a beneficiary of Twinning in applied linguistics, they can apply to the Facility with KERs from other projects on applied linguistics, but not from quantum physics.

Priorities for the next cut-off date

The next cut-off date is set at: 30/04/2026 h23.59CET (fourth cut-off date)

For the applications received within the cut-off date of 30/04/2026, the following priorities/conditions apply:

1. Applications providing the highest number of KERs will be prioritized.
2. Applications providing the highest number of KERs within the following Horizon Europe thematic domains will be prioritised:
   • Health
   • Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
   • Civil Security for Society
   • Digital, Industry and Space
   • Climate, Energy and Mobility
   • Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
3. Applications providing the highest number of mature KERs will be prioritized. The maturity of the KERs will be assessed by the experienced evaluators based on the information provided in the Exploitation Intentions Table, which will be filled in after eligibility check (see section What happens after the submission).
4. Applicants whose involvement allow optimal use of resources of the widerAdvance Facility are prioritized (e.g. for completion of seats available in an edition of the D&E Academy).

Besides the above-mentioned priorities, selection of applicants will comply with the following additional criteria:

• At each cut-off date, the share of selected applicants from any one country or region should not exceed its proportional share of all Widening beneficiaries under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, as established in the official programme statistics.
• Only one application from the same organisation will be selected at each cut-off date. If an organisation has been selected and it submits another application in a different cut-off date, that organisation will receive the lowest priority.

For more information and lern how to submit applications, please refer to the official source