Bridging actions 2027

Advancing promising results from Pillar II collaborative research through the innovation journey <div class="eui-u-mt-l>"><h4>General conditions</h4><div><h4>1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>Admissibility conditions are described in <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2026-2027/wp-15-general-annexes_horizon-2026-2027_en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Annex A</a> and <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2026-2027/wp-15-general-annexes_horizon-2026-2027_en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Annex E</a> of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.</p><p>Proposal page limits and layout are described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.</p><p><br></br></p></div></div><div><h4>2. Eligible countries</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>Eligible countries are described in <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2026-2027/wp-15-general-annexes_horizon-2026-2027_en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Annex B</a> of the Work Programme General Annexes.</p><p>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 <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/programme-guide_horizon_en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Horizon Europe Programme Guide</a>.</p><p><br></br></p></div></div><div><h4>3. Other Eligibility Conditions</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>The following additional eligibility criteria apply: consortia may include a maximum of 6 independent eligible entities as participants.</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>The proposals must be based on results generated within a prior multi-beneficiary project funded directly under the Clusters of Pillar II (Clusters 1 to 6), through a Research and Innovation Action (RIA), an Innovation Action (IA) or a Pre-commercial Procurement Action (PCP). Applicants may submit a proposal based on results generated within more than one such projects (from the same or different Clusters of Pillar II), however only one of these projects will be considered as primary. Applicants must explicitly state in their proposal the project concerned (or the primary project concerned in case the proposal is based on results generated within more than one projects), by providing the relevant grant number and acronym as indicated in the Funding &amp; Tenders Portal.</p><p>The project(s) must have been completed before the submission deadline[[The ‘end date’ of the grant must be prior to the submission deadline.]]. Ongoing projects[[Projects that have an ‘end date’ after the submission deadline.]] are not considered eligible. Only projects where the granting authority for the completed project is the Commission or Executive Agency[[This means for example that projects such as the ones funded under a co-funded European Partnership or a joint undertaking are not considered eligible.]] are eligible[[Results generated within projects funded via financial support to third parties are not eligible.]].</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>Proposals must provide evidence[[In case of proposals that are based on results generated within more than one projects, evidence of ownership or access to the knowledge assets, including intellectual property where relevant, must be provided for all these projects.]] that the consortium owns or has access to the knowledge assets, including intellectual property, where relevant. More specifically, proposals must include at least one of the following:</p><ul level="0"><li>Confirmation that at least one of the applicants is the owner or holder of the relevant knowledge assets, including if applicable Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and possesses the necessary rights to commercialise/use the results, or</li><li>Commitment letter from the owner(s) of the relevant result(s) confirming the owner(s)’ willingness to negotiate fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory access to the results, including IPR where relevant, for the purpose of future exploitation.</li></ul></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>In line with the “restriction on control in innovation actions in critical technology areas” delineated in General Annex B of the General Annexes, entities established in an eligible country but which are directly or indirectly controlled by China or by a legal entity established in China are not eligible to participate in the action.</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>Other eligibility conditions are described in <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2026-2027/wp-15-general-annexes_horizon-2026-2027_en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Annex B</a> of the Work Programme General Annexes.</p><p><br></br></p></div></div><div><h4>4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2026-2027/wp-15-general-annexes_horizon-2026-2027_en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Annex C</a> of the Work Programme General Annexes.</p><p><br></br></p></div></div><div><h4>5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>To allow a faster access to funds for small collaborative consortia, grants under this topic will be funded under a Fast Track to Research and Innovation Procedure (FTRI).</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>Indicative timetable for evaluation and grant agreement signature will be:</p><ul level="0"><li>Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 4 months from the final date for submission; and</li><li>Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 6 months from the final date for submission.</li></ul></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>To ensure a balanced project portfolio covering all Clusters of Pillar II (Clusters 1 to 6), grants will be awarded (within available budget) to proposals not only in order of ranking but at least also to those proposals that are the 2 highest ranked within different Clusters targeted[[A proposal is considered to target a Cluster of Pillar II (Cluster 1 to 6), when it is based on results generated within a prior multi-beneficiary project funded directly under that Cluster. In case of proposals that are based on results generated within more than one projects, the Cluster of the primary project -as stated by the applicants in their proposal- will be considered as being the Cluster targeted.]], provided that the proposals attain all thresholds.</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>Eligible proposals submitted under this topic and exceeding all the evaluation thresholds will be awarded a STEP Seal ​​​​​​[[<a href="https://strategic-technologies.europa.eu/about/step-seal_en">https://strategic-technologies.europa.eu/about/step-seal_en</a>]].</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in <a href="https://ec.europa.e