Widening Participation & Spreading Excellence

About this programme

In order to close the research and innovation gap between the European Member States, the Commission has designed the Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation strategy. Measures supported under this strategy will help low R&I performing EU countries to increase their participation in Horizon Europe.

There is a wide range of actions that can be used to achieve this objective from enhancing research and innovation capacity, spurring national reforms, facilitating brain circulation, launching measures for promoting excellence to creating new collaborative networks across the EU and supporting the opening of established networks to applicants from widening countries.

The 2023-2024 Work Programme will include four traditional widening instruments in addition to a number of novel elements included in the advancing Europe package agreed by the legislators in March 2019 to create impact on the above mentioned actions:

  • creating new or upgrading existing centres of excellence (Teaming);
  • significantly improving the research and innovation capacity of universities and research organisations (Twinning);
  • attracting and maintaining high quality human resources in research organisations (ERA Chair);
  • ensuring scientific networking, capacity building and career development support to researchers (COST actions);
  • strengthen regional innovation excellence in placed based innovation ecosystems (Excellence hubs);
  • transforming the higher education sector and their surrounding ecosystems (European Excellence Initiative);
  • setting up interfaces between different funding systems (Pathways to synergies);
  • improving the effectiveness of the dissemination and exploitation strategy of widening actions (Dissemination and Exploitation Support Facility);
  • involving partners from low R&I performing countries in already selected projects in Pillar 2 (Hop On Facility).
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Your NCP contact for this programme

Image of Man Hei To

Man Hei To

manhei.to@fwo.be

+32 2 550 15 55

Your PC contact for this programme

Find the contact info on the site of WEWIS

The National Contact Points (NCPs) provide support, guidance, and practical information to potential applicants, helping them navigate funding opportunities and application processes.

The Programme Committee (PC) members represent their country in decision-making about the work programmes, evaluate implementation, and provide strategic input on priorities and calls.

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Work Programme & Calls

We offer a handy Excel file, weekly updated, containing an up-to-date overview of the Horizon Europe calls. call topics overview

Infosheets

Infosheets contain edited content on aspects related to this programme. They are reviewed at least yearly.

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Testimonial

image of ERC grants awarded to professor Inez Germeys

ERC grants awarded to professor Inez Germeys

Professor Inez Germeys leads the Center for Contextual Psychiatry at KU Leuven, which is a large multi-disciplinary research group focusing on the interaction between the person and the environment in the development of psychopathology. She has received a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator grant (INTERACT) and Proof of Concept grant (IMPACT). With these grants professor Germeys and her team researched a new mobile self-management therapy for patients with a psychotic disorder. The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Daily Life (ACT-DL) was further developed for the clinical environment. In line with that the Horizon 2020 IMMERSE project aims to thoroughly evaluate strategies, processes, and outcomes of implementing a digital mobile mental health solution.