Bridging actions 2027

Skills for innovative SMEs <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><strong><em> </em></strong>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><strong>Proposal page limits and layout:</strong> described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.</p></div></div><div><h4>2. Eligible countries</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>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></div></div><div><h4>3. Other Eligibility Conditions</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>The following additional eligibility criteria apply: Only entities that are beneficiaries in the Enterprise Europe Network as a result of the call SMP-COSME-2024-EEN are eligible to apply.</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>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></div></div><div><h4>4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>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></div></div><div><h4>5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>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 D</a> of the Work Programme General Annexes.</p></div></div><div><h4>5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>The following additions to the general award criteria apply: <br>The quality and efficiency of implementation criterion shall take into account the ability and experience of the applying entities to award grants to third parties outside their own jurisdiction.</br></p><p>The implementation criterion shall include and emphasise the communication strategy proposed to reach out to both innovative SMEs with skills shortages and PhD-level experts.</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>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 F</a> of the Work Programme General Annexes and the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/om_en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Online Manual</a>.</p></div></div><div><h4>5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>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 F</a> of the Work Programme General Annexes.</p></div></div><div><h4>6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants</h4><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>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 Horizon Europe for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025).</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>The consortium must provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) for the implementation of this action. <br>Since providing FSTP is a core activity of this action, the EUR 60 000 threshold laid down in Article 207 of Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 does not apply. The maximum amount of FSTP provided in form of grants that may be awarded to any single third party is set at EUR 300 000 for the entire duration of the action. This ceiling is justified by the fact that FSTP is a primary activity of this action, by its expected duration of 1-2 years, including costs of relocation and of a European competitive salary for an internationally mobile expert at PhD level, and by the extensive experience gained by the Enterprise Europe Network in providing business support to SMEs. However, if the objectives of the action would otherwise be impossible or overly difficult the maximum amount may be higher if duly justified in the proposal.</br></p><p>The Consortium must allocate at least 90% of the total proposed budget to FSTP.</p></div><div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>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 G</a> of the Work Programme General Annexes.</p></div></div></div><div class="eui-u-mt-l"><h4>Specific conditions</h4> <div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p>described in the specific topic "HORIZON-BRIDGING-2027-05-01: Skills for innovative SMEs" of the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2026-2027/wp-14-horizontal-activities_horizon-2026-2027_en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Work Programme</a>.</p></div></div><div class="eui-u-mt-l"><div class="eui-u-mt-s"> </div><h4>Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):</h4> <div class="eui-u-mt-s"><p><strong>Application form templates</strong></p><p>Please use the application form that you will find in the Submission System. You can find examples of standard application forms in the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/reference-documents?programmePeriod=2021-2027&amp;frameworkProgramme=43108390" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reference Documents page</a> and below.</p><p><u><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/temp-form/af/af_he-csa_en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Standard application form (HE CSA)</a></u></p><p><strong>Evaluation form templates</strong> <em>— will be used with the necessary adaptations</em></p><p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/temp-form/ef/ef_he-csa_en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)</a></p><p><strong>Guidance</strong></p><p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/progra