Funding opportunities

For supported researchers: Concrete career prospects and increased career stability Access to diverse career pathways in and outside academia Deeper and more diverse set of research-related, academic and transferable skills and competences, leading to greater autonomy For participating organisations: Better alignment of research and Human Resources practices, including recruitment, career accession and progression systems, at participating organisation(s) with the European Charter for Researchers and the Council Recommendation of 18 December 2023 on a European framework to attract and retain research, innovation and entrepreneurial talents in Europe and the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment; Increased global attractiveness, visibility and reputation of the participating organisation(s); Stronger R&I and teaching capacity and output; Increased contribution to the local, regional and/or national socio-economic ecosystems; Stronger synergies across institutional research, management and teaching structures.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) is introducing a pre-acceleration call specifically for WIDERA (Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area) countries in its 2025 work program. This initiative aims to support early-stage, deep tech startups from less-developed EU regions in preparing for full EIC funding opportunities or attracting other investors. With €20M allocated, the program’s primary focus is to boost innovation competitiveness and business readiness among startups from these areas. Startups accepted into this pre-accelerator program will receive grants between €300,000 and €500,000 for up to two years, covering 70% of project costs while requiring the startups to cover the remainder. This funding supports technological development, market readiness, and investor appeal, helping companies better position themselves to apply for the EIC Accelerator program or seek other investment opportunities. Additionally, participants will have access to EIC’s Business Acceleration Services, which include networking, mentoring, and investor matchmaking to help companies scale and attract further investment. Proposals will undergo a single-stage assessment by independent evaluators to determine eligibility and suitability for this funding

MSCA Doctoral Networks will implement doctoral programmes, by partnerships of universities, research institutions and research infrastructures, businesses including SMEs, and other socio-economic actors from different countries across Europe and beyond. MSCA Doctoral Networks are indeed open to the participation of organisations from third countries, in view of fostering strategic international partnerships for the training and exchange of researchers. These doctoral programmes will respond to well-identified needs in various R&I areas, expose the researchers to the academic and non-academic sectors, and offer training in research-related, as well as transferable skills and competences relevant for innovation and long-term employability (e.g. entrepreneurship, commercialisation of results, Intellectual Property Rights, communication). Proposals for doctoral networks can reflect existing or planned research partnerships among the participating organisations. The selection procedure for doctoral candidates must be open, transparent and merit-based, in line with the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The vacancy notice (to be widely advertised internationally, including on the EURAXESS[1] website) must mention if the published rates include all employer and employee's taxes and contributions. If possible, the gross salary (net salary + employee’s taxes and contributions) should be published. MSCA Doctoral Networks are encouraged to lead to Industrial or Joint Doctorates.

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes: Support the implementation of EU strategies such as the proposed Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)[1], the EU Ecolabel[2], the Green Claims Directive proposal[3], the One-Substance-One-Assessment package[4], the Batteries Regulation[5], the Critical Raw Materials Act[6] and the Net Zero Industry Act[7] with scientific evidence on sustainability throughout the entire life cycle of chemicals and materials,; Reduce significantly the cost to apply LCA at company level, including for SMEs, compared to current costs; Allow an efficient and simplified LCA application at early stage of design and facilitate decision making for companies and policy makers by providing user-friendly and cost-effective tools, methods and data; Provide advanced, reliable and predictive life cycle models and impact assessment methods, allowing for a satisfactory measurement of planetary boundaries;

According to the recent report on the future of European competitiveness by Mario Draghi (published in September 2024), ‘the EU boasts an excellent university system on average, but its presence among the top world-leading research universities is limited’. The EU higher education system is quite inclusive and provides a high level of education and training to a significant portion of its young people. However, there are very large differences among European universities, and some perform very well in many respects. This action addresses this challenge by dedicated measures to reduce these disparities by raising the overall level of excellence of research undertaken in higher education entities. Furthermore, this action contributes to the implementation of the European strategy empowering higher education institutions for the future of Europe of 5 April 2022 and the ERA Policy Agenda 2022-24; ERA action 13: Empower higher education institutions to develop in line with ERA, and in synergy with the European Education Area.

MSCA Staff Exchanges involve organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors (including SMEs) from across the globe. Support is provided for international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary mobility of R&I staff leading to knowledge transfer between participating organisations. Mobility through secondments The organisations constituting the partnership contribute directly to the implementation of a joint R&I project by seconding and/or hosting eligible staff members. Such a project must explore activities that can be based on previous work but should go beyond and generate or strengthen long-term collaborations. Secondments must involve physical mobility[1] of the eligible staff members and must always take place between legal entities independent from each other. MSCA Staff Exchanges can address three dimensions of mobility: international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary[2]. While exchanges between organisations within EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries should mainly be inter-sectoral, same-sector exchanges[3] are also possible under the condition that they are interdisciplinary. Interdisciplinarity is not required for same-sector exchanges with non-associated Third Countries. Secondments between institutions established in non-associated Third Countries or within the same EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country are not eligible. The collaborative approach of MSCA Staff Exchanges should exploit complementary competences of the participating organisations and create synergies between them. The secondments should be essential to achieve the joint project’s R&I activities. The project should inter alia enable networking activities and the organisation of workshops and conferences, to facilitate sharing of knowledge and testing of innovative approaches for specific R&I topics. Skills’ development For participating staff members, the project should offer new skills acquisition and career development perspectives. Participating organisations must ensure that the seconded staff are adequately mentored.

Deadlines: 28th February, 31st May, 31st August, 30th November / each year