Pillar I: Building institutional capacities for ethical, equitable, open, and inclusive ERA

Scope

This topic aims to foster effective and sustainable structural institutional changes within R&I organisations in alignment with the ERA priorities. It supports the adoption of ERA policies and practices within institutions through capacity-building activities, such as the provision of tools, resources, recommendations, training, and exchange of good practices.

Applicants should select and clearly identify one area being addressed, choosing from the four areas outlined below. Each area is designed to contribute toward the implementation of an ERA policy: Area 1 – ERA Action “A coordinated framework responding to emerging challenges for ethics and integrity in R&I”; Area 2 – ERA Structural Policy “Strengthening gender equality and inclusiveness in the ERA”; Area 3 and Area 4 – ERA Action “Applying equity in open science”. Proposals should develop the activities outlined for the selected area and propose additional activities that contribute to achieving the expected outcomes.

While focusing on one area, proposals are encouraged to consider synergies with other topics of this Call. For example, applicants that choose Area 3 on equity and inclusion in open science may propose links to peer-review for scientific publishing (Area 4 of this topic), non-profit open access publishing models (Area 1 of topic HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-01), or reproducibility in research (Area 1 of topic HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-06-ERA-08). Any such synergies should be clearly explained.

Proposed activities should reach large communities of stakeholders, ensuring a wide geographical coverage, inclusivity, broad participation, and accessibility over the course of the project. Proposals should describe their target group in terms of its scope and size. In project activities, particular attention should be paid to promoting inclusive gender equality and addressing gender-specific challenges.

Expected project duration is 2-3 years without prejudice to a longer duration if justified.

Area 1: Capacity booster for ethics and integrity: addressing digital transition and ensuring digital inclusion for all

Expected outcome: Projects under Area 1 will deliver on the impact “A research ethics and integrity ecosystem continually enhanced with robust methodologies that encourage benefit sharing and prevent ethics dumping”, contributing to the ERA Action “A coordinated framework responding to emerging challenges for ethics and integrity in R&I”. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• A reinforced institutional ethics and integrity framework that supports researchers and ethics and integrity bodies in addressing challenges related to AI and the digitalisation of research, ensuring a high level of protection for children, adolescents, seniors, as well as effective mitigation of new digital vulnerabilities;
• Establishment of multidisciplinary networks, fostering responsible and ethical research in the digital domain;
• Increased awareness of the ethical challenges of digital research and the strategies needed to overcome them.

Scope: Area 1 aims to promote research ethics and integrity principles while preventing breaches in an increasingly digitalised world by developing ethical guidelines in the EU and beyond to foster institutional change. The objective is to build a robust ethics and integrity framework to help researchers address ethical challenges and prevent and/or mitigate risks of digital exclusion related to the rapid spread of AI and digitalisation in research, while protecting groups in a vulnerable situation, including children.

Proposals should build on the results of relevant past or ongoing projects at European and/or national level[1]. Structured cooperation with the Embassy of Good Science and relevant European networks should be included[2]. Project activities should target researchers, research integrity/ethics committees, European networks in research ethics, research management/integrity offices, ethics officers in research performing organisations, as well as policymakers. To achieve the expected outcomes, proposals should address the activities outlined below and propose any additional, complementary activities:

• Develop an institutional ethics and integrity framework based on standard operating procedures and operational guidance;
• Develop training programmes for researchers, ethics experts, and local ethics bodies/committees to safeguard responsible and trustworthy research in a digital context;
• Conduct targeted communication and dissemination actions on ethical challenges in the digital domain in order to build understanding among researchers, developers, and the broader public about risks, and to promote responsible innovation and commitment to the European Charter for Researchers, through activities such as workshops, surveys, public communication campaigns, and tailored ethics dialogues.

Area 2: Mutual learning and mentoring for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of inclusive gender equality plans

Expected outcome: Proposals under Area 2 will deliver on the impact “Enhanced gender equality and inclusiveness, leading to research excellence and more innovative, socially relevant, and economically impactful outcomes;”, contributing to the ERA Structural Policy “Strengthening gender equality and inclusiveness in the ERA”. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Increased capacity of R&I organisations to design, implement, monitor and evaluate inclusive gender equality plans (GEPs) through the availability of new or updated methods, guidance and tools;
• Increased uptake, quality and effectiveness of inclusive GEPs and policies in organisations that are less advanced in their implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Scope: Area 2 will support the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of inclusive GEPs through a peer-mentoring scheme, matching organisations and teams with a strong track record in developing and implementing inclusive GEPs with those that need guidance, particularly from – but not limited to – countries classified as emerging or moderate innovators by the EU Innovation Scoreboard.

Project activities should target research performing organisations, higher education institutions, and public bodies and build on existing knowledge, expertise, and tools[3]. Project consortia are expected to justify their collaboration based on their alignment in terms of common challenges, similar contexts and/or specific thematic focus. Proposals should address the activities outlined below and propose any additional, complementary activities:

• Implement actions in organisations that are less advanced in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of inclusive GEPs, guided by an intersectional approach, targeting underrepresented or socially disadvantaged groups, integrating gender dimension into R&I content, ensuring thorough monitoring and evaluation of inclusive GEPs, and other measures;
• Exchange good practices and materials tailored to individual organisations’ needs for the development, monitoring and evaluation of inclusive GEPs;
• Build capacities through activities such as on-site visits, training, workshops, and networking with relevant projects, initiatives and stakeholders in the area of gender equality and inclusiveness beyond the project consortia.

Area 3: Address equity and inclusion in capacities for open science

Expected outcome: Proposals under Area 3 will deliver on the impact “A more open, equitable and inclusive research and innovation ecosystem”, contributing to the ERA Action “Applying equity in open science”. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Consolidated evidence base on equity and inclusion in open science;
• Support for researchers with diverse profiles and needs in adopting open science practices, including more equitable access to open science infrastructures;
• Training material for the practice of open science addressing specific equity needs and profiles.

Scope: Area 3 aims to generate actionable recommendations and toolkits in order to support capacities for open science by prioritising an equitable contribution to, and benefits from, open science through policy and institutional practice.

Proposals should build on any past or ongoing relevant initiatives and projects at European or national level[4]. Project activities should involve actors such as research performing and funding organisations, research assessment agencies, research infrastructures, universities, researchers, innovators, and policymakers. To achieve the expected outcomes, proposals should address the activities outlined below and propose any additional, complementary activities:

• Take stock of equity and inclusion barriers in relation to open science practices and access to open science infrastructures, notably in connection to scientists’ personal circumstances (like career stage, employment stability and contract type, financial circumstances, country of origin or residence, and factors such as gender, ethnicity);
• Develop and disseminate shared tools, training methods, and services tailored to equity needs, thereby boosting open science skills and capacities in collaboration with stakeholders;
• Support the professionalisation of open science-related profiles, such as data stewards, non-profit academic editors, and non-profit academic journals' reviewers;
• Provide recommendations for developing a common ERA approach to equity in open science in its different practices.

Area 4: Improving quality, efficiency and equity in peer-review for scientific publishing

Expected outcome: Proposals under Area 4 will deliver on the impact “A more open, equitable and inclusive research and innovation ecosystem”, contributing to the ERA Action “Applying equity in open science”. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Improved quality and increased transparency, recognition, equity, and non-bias in the peer-review process and editorial review system in different disciplines among publishers (including non-profit, institutional, scholarly societies, and commercial publishers) and editors/editorial boards;
• Increased awareness among researchers, research performing organisations, scholarly societies, editors/editorial boards and publishers, of the need for a transparent and equitable peer review process as an integral part of high-quality research.

Scope: Peer-review has recently come under scrutiny and is being reimagined to better serve scientific integrity, openness, and fairness. To this end, Area 4 aims to contribute towards enhancing its various aspects and to explore different peer-review models.

Proposals should cover disciplines from at least two of the six Frascati[5] fields of science and technology as well as consider the emerging challenge of AI in peer-review. Project activities should involve actors such as editors/editorial boards, scholarly societies, research performing organisations, and national research evaluation agencies. To achieve the expected outcomes, proposals should address the activities outlined below and propose any additional, complementary activities:

• Pilot policies and processes in different scientific fields that will improve the peer-review process, mindful of the challenges introduced by AI;
• Draft recommendations for transitioning scholarly publishing in different scientific fields to improved, more efficient, transparent, equitable, and non-biased peer-reviewed processes;
• Address new forms of peer-review, such as open peer-review, and innovative publishing models, including “publish-review-curate”, where the review is conducted on publicly available preprints;
• Address attitudes to and effectiveness of peer review practices in different scientific fields, considering geographic, gender, and career stage biases in the process.

[1] Including projects funded under H2020_SwafS-27-2017, H2020_SwafS-03-2018, H2020_SwafS-29-2020, HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-90, HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-91, HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-91, HORIZON_HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-12, HORIZON_HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-ERA-01-12; See also Cordis Results Pack: Ethics and integrity: Building bridges for trust and excellence in research and innovation.

[2] E.g., the European Network of Research Ethics Committees and Research Integrity Offices (ENERI), The Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF), and the Network of Education on Research Quality (NERQ).

[3] GEAR Tool; Projects funded under H2020_SwafS-13-2018,H2020_SwafS-08-2017, HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-80, HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-81, and HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-ERA-01-11 .

[4] Including project ON-MERRIT, funded under H2020_SwafS-20-2018-2019, and projects funded under HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-44.

[5] 1) Natural sciences; 2) Engineering and technology; 3) Medical and health sciences; 4) Agricultural and veterinary sciences; 5) Social sciences; 6) Humanities and the arts.