Pillar I: Facilitating development of institutional open access policies through the retention of intellectual property rights
European Commission · Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON)
Posted 8 Dec 2026 · About 5 months left
In plain terms
The European Commission funds consortia to develop institutional open access policies in research organisations across the EU and Associated Countries, supporting the European Open Science Cloud initiative. Projects of EUR 1 to 6 million should increase open access publications and institutional repositories, with English applications due by 11 March 2027.
A generated summary of the donor's text; the original wording is below.
Summary
Expected Outcome:
Proposals will deliver on the impact “A more open, equitable and inclusive research and innovation ecosystem”, contributing to the ERA Structural Policy “Enabling open science via sharing and re-use of data, including through the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC)”. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
Increased number of EU research performing organisations (RPOs) with well-developed policies on open access publications, which include clause(s) for rights retention;
Higher share of research publications in open access across the EU and Associated Countries, especially in low-performing countries with respect to open access;
Increase of access to and preservation of scientific information through institutional infrastructures, such as repositories.
Scope:
While the EU is making progress on its open access objectives, recent reports show that there is still significant room for improvement. There is variable progress across Member States and Associated Countries, and less growth in open access through repositories compared to open access publishing.
Rights retention[1] strategies, embedded in institutional or funder…
Excerpt from the donor's page. The full text, annexes and forms are on the original call.
Eligible regions
- eu_only
Who can apply
- ngo_cso
- academia_research
- private_company
- government
- consortium_required
Eligibility and conditions
Show the eligibility text from the source
">General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
Applications must be submitted by a consortium including participation, as beneficiaries, of at least three independent legal entities: Each established in a different Member State or Associated Country; and two of which are established in a Member State.
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE CSA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)
Guidance
HE Programme Guide
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Lump Sum MGA
Call-specific instructions
Detailed budget table (HE LS)
Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 11. Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement