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Open call run by the EU-funded project POLICY ENLARGE (R&I POLICY support for ENLARGEment countries). You apply to the project, not to the European Commission. Synced from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal on 9 November 2026.
R&I POLICY support for ENLARGEment countries
POLICY ENLARGE aims to strengthen evidence-based R&I policy making, implementation and support in EU enlargement countries. Building on the foundation of POLICY ANSWERS, the new action addresses the wider geographical scope and new strategic needs in the evolving EU Research and Innovation (R&I) landscape. The proposed action supports structured, inclusive and continuous policy dialogue through high-level ministerial meetings, thematic workshops and peer learning exchanges. It facilitates integration into the European Research Area (ERA), the European Education Area and the European Innovation Agenda. The project aligns with the EU’s geopolitical and financial priorities by enhancing resilience, accelerating the green and digital transitions, and preparing candidate countries for closer integration with EU frameworks. A major innovation is the launch of a new third-party funding scheme…
EU contribution
€3.0M
Total cost
€3.0M
Runs
1 Apr 2026 to 31 Mar 2029
Programme
Horizon Europe
Funded under the EU call HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-04-ACCESS-01. Official project record ↗
20 organisations in the project. The coordinator usually manages the open call and its evaluation.
Submit your proposal via our online form https://opportunities.getonepass.eu/opportunities/policy-enlarge before the relevant Cut-off Date.
Your application must be in English, and all mandatory sections must be completed.
Proposals cannot be modified after submission.
Multiple submissions for the same Funding Instrument and the same Cut-off Date are not permitted. If the same entity submits more than one proposal for the same Funding Instrument and Cut-off Date, only the most recently submitted proposal will be taken into consideration.
Each third party may benefit from no more than one POLICY ENLARGE Funding Instrument/Grant throughout the entire Open Call, irrespective of the Funding Instrument or Cut-off Date.
If the same third party is included in more than one proposal selected for funding, only the highest-scoring proposal involving that third party will be considered for funding. The other proposal(s) may be replaced by the next-ranked eligible proposal(s), in accordance with the ranking list.
If a third party has already received POLICY ENLARGE funding under a previous Cut-off Date, any subsequent proposal involving the same third party as a funded participant shall be considered ineligible for funding.
We will support up to 45 Projects in this Open Call:
The total budget available for this Open Call is EUR 300,000.
POLICY ENLARGE expects to select an indicative number of proposals under each Cut-off Date (up to 4 under Funding Instrument #1, up to 3 under Funding Instrument #2, and up to 5 under Funding Instrument #3).
The project aims to select at least 1 Project per enlargement country. However, the final number of selected proposals, the distribution across countries, and the Cut-off Dates themselves may be flexibly adjusted based on the quantity and quality of applications and available budget. Any unused budget or places will be transferred to subsequent Cut-off Dates.
The following types of activities can be funded:
For Funding Instrument #1: Small Grants for Joint Regional Innovation Actions and Funding Instrument #2: Small Grants for Collaborative Uptake of Results: consortia including at least two independent legal entities, each established in a different enlargement country. The participating entities can be Companies, Research Organisations and Academia Research Groups, Non-profit entities, Digital Innovation Hubs /European Digital Innovation Hubs, and other relevant R&I actors.
For Funding Instrument #3: Small Grants for People-to-People Cooperation Projects: consortia including participation of Researchers, Artists, or Entrepreneurs - affiliated with independent legal entities, established either in different Enlargement Countries or in an Enlargement Country and an EU Member State.
Secondees, i.e. applicants for the mobility programme, must be citizens of an eligible enlargement country or hold a permanent residence permit in an enlargement country.
To be eligible, applicants shall be based in the Enlargement Countries, which are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine.
In the case of Funding Instrument #3: Small Grants for People-to-People Cooperation Projects, the hosting entity can also be from any EU Member State and its Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
POLICY ENLARGE partners and their affiliated entities can NOT be involved in the Financial Support to Third Parties recipients’ projects nor their employees and associates, including persons working under employment contract or contract equal or similar to employment contract and board members. Former employees and associates shall also be excluded if they were involved in the project execution at any stage.
Applicants under EU restrictive measures are ineligible:
Other restrictive measures:
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence
Applicants asked the EU 3 questions about this call and the EU published the answers. They clarify the call documents but do not replace them.
There are no specific recommendations concerning the budget distribution between participants from enlargement countries. Open access to results should be the default option.
Read it on the EU portal ↗Answered 2 Jul 2025
Yes, all enlargement countries have to be covered, they all need to benefit from project results.
Read it on the EU portal ↗Answered 15 Jul 2025
Organisations from enlargement countries can be consortium members. In case such countries are not represented in the consortium, the proposal must prove that there are existing good contacts with enlargement countries’ administrations, so that the necessary communication flow can be ensured.
Read it on the EU portal ↗Answered 2 Jul 2025
Confirm the current call documents and submission conditions with the funding authority.
View on EU portal ↗Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal · synced 2026-11-09
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