Supporting the EOSC Partnership in further consolidating the coordination and sustainability of the EOSC ecosystem

The open call for proposals is aimed at public institutions, educational institutions, and other research-active organizations in EU Member States or Horizon Europe-associated countries that wish to generate clear added value for end users. With a total budget of €400,000 and a maximum of €50,000 per project, initiatives will be supported that, within six months, either develop scientific use cases or advance the piloting of new services within the EOSC federation. A prerequisite for application is written support from at least one Candidate EOSC Node as well as the submission of a PDF document detailing excellence, impact, and implementation. ESF consortium partners and their staff are excluded from participation. The project duration starts no earlier than May 6, 2026. Eligible applicants include research infrastructures, universities, institutes, individuals from the RI environment, and organizations wishing to onboard services into the EOSC network.

The grant is provided as a lump sum, linked to achieved milestones and deliverables. The deadline for submission is February 18, 2026, 17:00 CET. Online submissions are made via the ESF platform following prior registration. Evaluation is based on the criteria of Excellence, Impact, and Implementation. The selection process includes a formal review stage, a pre-assessment phase by external reviewers, and a panel session with a final consensus report. This structured evaluation ensures that funded projects sustainably contribute to the expansion and consolidation of the EOSC federation. Interested project applicants can find all necessary guidelines in the application documents on the ESF platform to prepare and submit their proposals effectively.