What this call funds
Expected Outcome
Progress in strengthening links between research and innovation actors across the European Research Area (ERA) is essential for Europe to capitalize on excellence. ERA Chairs aim to attract outstanding scientists and innovators to universities, research organisations or research infrastructures in Widening countries, fostering brain circulation and creating pockets of excellence that enhance institutional culture and performance.
The ERA Chair holder’s leadership and the establishment of a permanent, high-quality research group will boost excellence, visibility, and integration within the ERA, improving competitiveness in research and promoting institutional reforms aligned with ERA priorities.
Projects are expected to contribute to some of the following outcomes:
At system level:
- Increased international, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral mobility of R&I talent towards Widening countries;
- Institutional reforms in research institutions and national R&I systems;
- Strengthened human capital with more entrepreneurial and well-trained researchers;
- Better communication of R&I results to society;
- Enhanced research capacity, competitiveness, and economic growth.
At organisation level:
- Strengthened research excellence in ERA Chair fields;
- Increased attractiveness to top international researchers;
- Establishment of a lasting, high-performing research group with institutional benefits;
- Improved success in EU and global competitive funding.
Scope
Research organisations or research infrastructures in Widening countries seeking to establish an ERA Chair should submit a proposal with a prospective ERA Chair holder - an outstanding researcher or innovator in any scientific domain. The research institution will act as the sole applicant (mono-beneficiary), and ERA Chair holders may be from any country, but may not already have a contractual relationship with the coordinating entity.
Proposals should include a Curriculum Vitae (CV) in Europass form[1] of the prospective ERA Chair holder, detailing their scientific and technical contributions to the coordinating institution. The CV should be uploaded as an Annex to the proposal.
Proposals should also describe any relevant investments of the coordinator in research projects, facilities and infrastructures and how those will be achieved and/or a better use of the installed research capacity (in particular of EU co-funded research infrastructures & facilities). Existing or foreseen arrangements for compliance with ERA priorities[2] including the European Charter for Researchers & Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers[3] should be outlined in the proposal.
ERA Chair holders should be excellent researchers and/or innovators in the chosen field of research[4]. They should establish a research team fully integrated in the coordinator's institution to significantly improve its research performance in the scientific domain of choice and to be more successful in obtaining competitive funding. The recruitment of the research team must follow an open, transparent and merit-based process and should be conducted by an international panel chaired by the ERA Chair. The ERA Chair holder should have a position within the organization enabling them to drive institutional reforms within the organisation, ensure resource allocation, and to submit funding applications. Teaching duties may be included where appropriate.
ERA Chair holders may relocate permanently or temporarily to the coordinating institution, with secondments, sabbaticals, or part-time arrangements also possible. A minimum 50% full-time equivalent (FTE) commitment, including on-site presence, must be ensured, at least until the appointment of a research group leader on a permanent basis. A description of the transition phase between the team leader and the ERA chair holder should be provided in the proposal, explaining also their share of tasks and their role in the remaining years of the project, in case the appointed research group leader is not the ERA Chair holder. In this case the ERA chair should remain committed (at least 20%) for the remaining duration of the project in support to the research leader to ensure efficient reforms and improved research performance.
All contractual arrangements, time commitment and the timeline of the ERA Chair’s on-site presence at the coordinator should be indicated in the proposal, as well as the salary (gross amount), travel and daily allowances and/or other perks to be offered. If employment is the preferred option, contractual details must be provided.
The leader of the newly created research group should be appointed on a permanent basis within the institution within the first three years of the project through an open recruitment process monitored by the European Commission, and to which the ERA Chair holder may apply.
To ensure long-term sustainability, the ERA Chair research team should be structured for continuity beyond Horizon Europe funding. The proposal should clearly describe and detail the team composition in terms of the profiles, the researcher levels, the salaries, and the recruitment timelines. Since the research group will be newly established, the names of the researchers who will be recruited cannot be known at the proposal stage and therefore should not be indicated. In addition to the research group leader, at least 20% of the newly appointed research group members should have permanent positions and no more than 50% should have any prior contractual links to the host institution.
The grant covers salaries, recruitment[5], travel and administrative expenses related to the ERA Chair holder and research team. It also covers consumables and equipment (up to 10% of the EU contribution). The proposed structural reforms should be outlined in the proposal, such as improving working conditions, career prospects, HR policies, research governance, grant management and knowledge transfer. Gender equality should be addressed in alignment with ERA objectives and institutional commitments.
Proposals should quantify expected impacts, including new research partnerships, institutional changes, increased research output enhanced, research knowledge and practice, innovative research. These should be supported by periodic impact indicators.
The expected duration of the actions is 5 years.
[1] https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv.
[2] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2012:0392:FIN
[3] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reco/2005/251/oj
[4] Corresponding to profiles R3 or R4 of researchers careers as set out in the “European Framework for Research Careers” provided at https://cdn5.euraxess.org/sites/default/files/policy_library/towards_a_european_framework_for_researc h_careers_final.pdf
[5] that can be considered under the category of "other goods, works and services
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.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
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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
To achieve the expected outcomes, participation as coordinators to the call is limited to legal entities established in Widening countries, as defined in the Horizon Europe regulation.
Applications may only be submitted by one legal entity (mono-beneficiary).
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
To allow for the assessment of the commitment of the future ERA Chair holder and of the coordinator institution, proposals must include:
1) a letter signed by the prospective ERA Chair holder expressing their commitment to the proposal corresponding to at least 50% full time equivalent (FTE) until the permanent appointment of a research group leader by M36, and their willingness to take on the underlying tasks and obligations and agreed contractual arrangements including salary and on-site presence at the host institution. Following the recruitment of the research leader, the ERA chair should remain committed (at least 20%) for the remaining duration of the project in support to the research leader to ensure efficient reforms and improved research performance.
2) a letter signed by the head of the coordinator institution committing to the proposal and stating that the ERA Chair holder will receive adequate support for their tasks and duties including, for example, access to research facilities, supervision of researchers, teaching duties (if any) and freedom to apply to national and international funding.
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
Seals of Excellence will be awarded to applications exceeding all of the evaluation thresholds set out in this work programme but which cannot be funded due to lack of budget available to the call.
The following rules for dealing with ex-aequo applications apply: in the first place, ex-aequo proposals will be prioritised according to geographical diversity criteria, defined as proposals with coordinators established in a Widening country, not otherwise represented as coordinator higher up the ranking list. The method described in Points 1), 2), 3) and 5) of General Annexes Part F (Procedure/Evaluation procedure and ranking) will then be applied to the remaining equally ranking proposals in the group. This rule establishing the priority order serves to better spread the impact of the action and to strengthen the efficiency of the ‘Widening participation and spreading excellence’ programme.
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 RIA, IA)
Standard application form (HE RIA IA Stage 1) 
Standard application form (HE RIA IA Stage 1 BLIND)
Standard application form (HE CSA) 
Standard application form (HE CSA Stage 1) 
Standard application form (HE CSA Stage 1 BLIND)
Standard application form (HE RI) 
Standard application form (HE PCP) 
Standard application form (HE PPI) 
Standard application form (HE COFUND) 
Standard application form (HE FPA) 
Standard application form (HE MSCA PF) 
Standard application form (HE MSCA DN) 
Standard application form (HE MSCA SE) 
Standard application form (HE MSCA COFUND) 
Standard application form (HE MSCA COFUND CE)
Standard application form (HE ERC STG) 
Standard application form (HE ERC COG) 
Standard application form (HE ERC ADG) 
Standard application form (HE ERC POC) 
Standard application form (HE ERC SYG) 
Standard application form (HE EIC PATHFINDER CHALLENGES) 
Standard application form (HE EIC PATHFINDER OPEN) 
Standard application form (HE EIC TRANSITION) 
Standard application form (HE EIC STEP)
Standard application form (HE EIC Accelerator stage 2 - full proposal)
Standard application form (HE EIC Accelerator stage 1 - short proposal)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations 
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) 
Standard evaluation form (HE CSA) 
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA and CSA Stage 1) 
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA and CSA Stage 1 BLIND)
Standard evaluation form (HE PCP PPI) 
Standard evaluation form (HE COFUND) 
Standard evaluation form (HE FPA) 
Standard evaluation form (HE MSCA) 
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC PATHFINDER CHALLENGES) 
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC PATHFINDER OPEN) 
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC TRANSITION) 
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC Accelerator stage 1 - short proposal) 
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC Accelerator stage 2 - full proposal) 
Guidance
HE Programme Guide 
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
HE MGA 
HE Unit MGA 
Lump Sum MGA 
Operating Grants MGA 
Framework Partnership Agreement FPA 
Call-specific instructions 
Detailed budget table (HE LS) 
Information on financial support to third parties (HE) 
Information on clinical studies (HE) 
Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025 – 2. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 3. Research Infrastructures
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 4. Health
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 5. Culture, creativity and inclusive society
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 6. Civil Security for Society
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 10. European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 11. Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 13. New European Bauhaus Facility (NEB)
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025 – 13. General Annexes
EIC Work Programme 2025
ERC Work Programme 2026
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
Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal · synced 2026-10-13