What this call funds
Expected Impact
The prize will boost public awareness of the potential, importance and contribution of women to the EU innovation ecosystem and create strong role models, inspiring more women to become innovators themselves.
Expected Outcome
The prize will boost public awareness of the potential, importance and contribution of women to the EU innovation ecosystem and create strong role models, inspiring more women to become innovators themselves.
Objective
The European Prize for Women Innovators celebrates the women entrepreneurs behind Europe’s game-changing innovations, so that they may inspire other women and girls realise their full potential as the EU’s future scientists, innovators, and tech leaders.
This prize supports a culture within research and innovation organisations and companies allowing women to become the innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
The prize is awarded every year to women from across the EU and countries associated to Horizon Europe, who have transformed their ideas into disruptive innovations to benefit people and the planet and who are inspiring leaders.
As for the previous edition, the 2027 European Prize for Women Innovators is organised in coordination between the Agency and the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT). The winners are chosen by an independent expert jury.
The prize has three categories, two funded by the EIC (the Women Innovators and the Rising Innovators categories) and one by the EIT (the EIT Women Leadership category). The Rules of Contest apply to both the EIC and EIT prize categories.
Scope
The European Prize for Women Innovators celebrates the women entrepreneurs behind Europe’s game-changing innovations, so that they may inspire other women and girls realise their full potential as the EU’s future scientists, innovators, and tech leaders.
This prize supports a culture within research and innovation organisations and companies allowing women to become the innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
The prize is awarded every year to women from across the EU and countries associated to Horizon Europe, who have transformed their ideas into disruptive innovations to benefit people and the planet and who are inspiring leaders.
As for the previous edition, the 2027 European Prize for Women Innovators is organised in coordination between the Agency and the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT). The winners are chosen by an independent expert jury.
The prize has three categories, two funded by the EIC (the Women Innovators and the Rising Innovators categories) and one by the EIT (the EIT Women Leadership category). The Rules of Contest apply to both the EIC and EIT prize categories.
Eligibility & conditions+
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.
Applications must be submitted before the call deadline.
Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System (accessible via the Topic page in the Calls for proposals section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Applications (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided inside the Submission System ( NOT the documents available on the Topic page — they are only for information).
Applications must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:
- Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the applicant (natural person) (to be filled in directly online)
- Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the application (template to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed, assembled and re-uploaded)
- mandatory annexes and supporting documents (templates to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed, assembled and re-uploaded):
- Applicants must support their application with an inspiring video message lasting no more than 90 seconds, describing themselves and their achievements. The video cannot exceed 100MB and should be uploaded to the Submission portal as a .zip file in annex.
- Proof of age for Rising Innovators category.
Your application must be readable, accessible, printable (please check carefully the layout of the documents uploaded).
Applications are limited to maximum 15 pages (Part B). Evaluators will not consider any additional pages.
You may be asked at a later stage for further documents (for legal entity validation, bank account validation, ethics review, declaration of honour, etc).
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 Eligibility Conditions
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
In order to be eligible, the applicants must:
- be a woman
- apply as a natural person;
- be legally residing in an EU Member State, including overseas countries and territories (OCTs) or a country associated to Horizon Europe;
- be the founder or co-founder of the company or organisation;
- the company or organisation must be established in an EU Member State including overseas countries and territories, (OCTs) or a country associated to Horizon Europe, and registered or incorporated at least one year before the call year;
- applicants who have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize for the same activities.
Applicants to the Rising Innovators category must be aged under 35 at the start of the call year.
Applicants to the EIT category must have a direct link to the EIT Community.
Applicants are expected to provide proof of eligibility upon request.
Applicants eligible for several prize categories can only apply to one. In the case of applications submitted under multiple categories, only the latest application will be considered, and all other applications will be rejected as ineligible.
Joint applications by a group of applicants are not accepted and will be rejected as ineligible. Applicants from the same organisation must apply separately.
Applicants must register in the Participant Register — before the call deadline — and will have to be validated by the Central Validation Service (REA Validation). For the validation, you will be requested to upload documents showing legal status (please make sure to select ‘natural person’) and origin.
Before applying, please read carefully the Rules of Contest.
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
described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
If admissible and eligible, the applications will be evaluated and ranked against the following award criteria:
Award criterion 1: Breakthrough innovation – the company or organisation founded or cofounded by the applicant is developing a breakthrough innovation focusing, among others, on Deep-tech and Science Technology Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) fields. In presenting their innovation, the applicant should demonstrate what makes this innovation breakthrough in relation to other existing solutions.
Award criterion 2: Impact – this innovation addresses a real need or challenge, with significant benefits for people and/or the planet. The applicant will demonstrate how the company’s or organisation’s current performance and growth is driving a positive socio-economic and/or environmental impact, among others, in terms of wellbeing, education, profit, or job creation.
Award criterion 3: Inspiration – the applicant is an inspiring leader, who has played a pivotal role in the success of the company or organisation and is a role model empowering other women and girls in realising their full potential. The applicant should, for example, highlight her efforts to promote gender balance within the company, organisation or beyond, and/or to advocate for innovative initiatives that have positively contributed to gender equality in, e.g., access to finance, networks, product design, education and contributes to a gender-responsive innovation.
Award criteria Minimum pass score Maximum score
Breakthrough innovation 6 10
Impact 6 10
Inspiration 6 10
Overall (pass) scores 18 30
Maximum points: 30 points.
Individual thresholds: 6/10 points.
Overall threshold: 18 points.
Applications must pass both the individual thresholds AND the overall threshold. The prize will be awarded to the application ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with the best scores in each category. Other applications will be rejected.
The jury’s assessment will be based on Parts A and B of the application form, as well as the video submitted by the applicant.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Applications in each category will be subject to a formal evaluation by a jury.
If there are more than 500 applications in one category, there will be a pre-selection in that category to select the best 500 applications to pass to jury review. Otherwise, all eligible applications will pass directly to jury review.
The pre-selection panel and jury usually have a different composition, but jury members may participate in the pre-selection panel.
The pre-selection panel and/or the jury will evaluate each eligible application against the award criteria.
For applications with the same score, the pre-selection panel and/ or the jury will determine a priority order according to the following approach: The score for the criterion No 2 will be given a weight of 2 and the score for criterion No 3 will be given a weight of 1.5.
If two or more applications still tie for any rank or category at the pre-selection phase, those applications will be admitted to the next phase of the evaluation.
If two or more applications still tie for any rank or category at the jury review, those applications will be admitted to the hearings.
Up to six best ranked applications in each category will be invited for a hearing with the jury in Brussels. This hearing may take place remotely.
If two or more applications still tie for any rank or category, the prize will be equally divided and awarded to all applications with the same score.If two or more applications tie for the first or subsequent ranks, the prize will be equally divided and awarded to all applications with the same score.
On the basis of the evaluation by the jury (and after the mandatory checks: ethics review, security scrutiny, legal entity validation, non-exclusion, double funding and plagiarism, etc), the awarding authority will decide on the award of the prize.
All applications will be informed about the evaluation result (evaluation result letter). Successful applications will be awarded the prize; the not successful ones will be put on the reserve list or rejected.
If you believe that the evaluation procedure was flawed, you can submit a complaint (following the deadlines and procedures set out in the evaluation result letter). Please note that notifications which have not been opened within 10 days after sending will be considered to have been accessed and that deadlines will be counted from opening/access (see also Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions). Please also be aware that for complaints submitted electronically, there may be character limitations.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Deadline for submission: 01 December 2026 – 17:00 CET (Brussels)
Evaluation: December 2026 - April 2027
Information on the results and awards: April-June 2027
6. Legal and financial set-up of the prize
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Payment arrangements
The prize money will be paid to the prize winners after the award ceremony, provided all the requested documents have been submitted.
Communication — Dissemination — Visibility of funding
Prize winners must promote the prize and its results, by providing targeted information to multiple audiences (including the media and the public) in a strategic and effective manner.
Communication activities related to the prize (including media interviews, press statements, presentations, etc., in electronic form, via traditional or social media, etc.), must acknowledge EU support and display the European flag (emblem) and funding statement (translated into local languages, where appropriate).
The emblem must remain distinct and separate and cannot be modified by adding other visual marks, brands or text.
Apart from the emblem, no other visual identity or logo may be used to highlight the EU support.
When displayed in association with other logos (e.g. of winners or sponsors), the emblem must be displayed at least as prominently and visibly as the other logos.
For the purposes of these obligations, the winners may use the emblem without first obtaining approval from the awarding authority. This does not, however, give them the right to exclusive use. Moreover, they may not appropriate the emblem or any similar trademark or logo, either by registration or by any other means.
Any communication or dissemination activity related to the prize must use factually accurate information.
Moreover, it must indicate the following disclaimer (translated into local languages where appropriate):
“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the awarding authority can be held responsible for them.”
“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Insititute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Neither the European Union nor the awarding authority can be held responsible for them.”
IPR — Rights of use
The awarding authority does not obtain ownership of the results produced in the context of the prize.
The awarding authority has the right to use non-sensitive information relating to the prize and materials and documents received from the winners (such as pictures or audio-visual material, in paper or electronic form) for information, communication, dissemination and publicity purposes.
Photos and videos taken by the awarding authority either in preparation of the award ceremony or during the award ceremony are the sole property of the awarding authority.
Checks, audits and investigations
The awarding authority, the European Commission, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Court of Auditors (ECA) may carry out checks, audits and investigations in relation to the prize.[1]
Withdrawal of the prize — Recovery of undue amounts
The awarding authority may withdraw the prize after its award and recover all payments made, if it finds out that:
- false information, fraud or corruption was used to obtain it
- the prize winners were not eligible or should have been excluded or
- the prize winners are in serious breach of their obligations under these Rules of Contest.
Specific conditions
European Prize for Women Innovators Rules of Contest
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates
Please use the application form that you will find in the Submission System. You can find examples of standard application forms in the Reference Documents page.
Guidance
HE Programme Guide
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 14. Horizontal Activities
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
EIC Work Programme 2026
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal · synced 2026-09-02