Search
The kick-off meeting of POLICY ENLARGE began today at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) in Budapest, where project partners have gathered for a two-day launch meeting. Running from April 2026 to March 2029, the new Horizon Europe project builds on the work of POLICY ANSWERS while extending EU-supported research and innovation policy cooperation to all ten enlargement economies.
Just over a month after POLICY ANSWERS held its final event in Tirana on 19 March 2026, many of the same partners are meeting again in Budapest under a broader consortium and framework. POLICY ENLARGE is designed to strengthen evidence-based research and innovation policy-making, implementation and support across the enlargement region. Building on the experience and networks developed through POLICY ANSWERS, it brings together policy dialogue, peer learning, capacity building, financial support to third parties (FSTP), and an upgraded information hub, while continuing work on Smart Specialisation, gender equality and regional cooperation.
From six to ten enlargement economies
Where POLICY ANSWERS focused on the six Western Balkans economies, POLICY ENLARGE broadens that framework to include Georgia, Moldova, Türkiye and Ukraine. The result is a single policy support framework spanning all ten enlargement economies. That wider scope is also reflected in the composition of the consortium, which combines research organisations, universities, innovation agencies and public authorities from across the region and the EU.
The first day of the meeting opened with welcomes from MOME, the European Commission and project coordinator RCISD. It continued with a policy overview from Ágota Dávid of DG RTD, a presentation on the project’s state of play by Béla Kardon of RCISD, and a session in which Elke Dall of ZSI reflected on the links between POLICY ANSWERS and POLICY ENLARGE. In the afternoon, discussions turned to the first four work packages: WP1 on Policy Dialogue, led by ZSI; WP2 on Policy Guidance and Learning, led by DLR; WP3 on Joint Calls and Actions, led by FundingBox, including the FSTP scheme; and WP4 on Capacity Building, led by RCISD. The day concluded with a campus tour of MOME and a working dinner.
The meeting continues tomorrow, 22 April, with sessions on WP5 on Communication, Dissemination, Exploitation and Stakeholder Engagement, led by ZSI, and WP6 on Project Management and Coordination, led by RCISD, before closing with final conclusions and a farewell lunch. According to the project proposal, POLICY ENLARGE is coordinated by RCISD in Hungary and brings together a broad partnership that includes ZSI, DLR, FundingBox, Barleti University, the University of Sarajevo, the University of Banja Luka, the Georgian Institute for Research & Innovation, RIINVEST Institute, NARD, the Science and Technology Park Montenegro, MIR, TUBITAK, the Institute for Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and associated public bodies and ministries from across the enlargement region. POLICY ENLARGE is funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe, call HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-04-ACCESS-01.
*Kosovo: this designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.