Pillar I: Accelerating open access and research assessment reforms in ERA

Within Pillar I "Acceleration of Open Access Models and Reforms of Research Assessment in the European Research Area (ERA)," the European Commission funds projects that initiate sustainable institutional changes in research and innovation organizations. Funding is particularly aimed at consortia consisting of at least three independent legal entities from three EU Member States or associated countries, including non-commercial publishers, scholarly societies, libraries, as well as evaluation and accreditation bodies. Supported activities range from the development of non-profit open access publication models to guidelines and training programs, as well as quality assurance measures for third-party funding (Cascading Grants). With a total budget of €2–3 million per project (100% funding rate) and a duration of up to 36 months, 20–30 pilot actions are to be enabled across natural, engineering, medical, agricultural, humanities, and social science disciplines, as well as advancing reforms of research assessment in line with the CoARA agreement.

Expected outcomes include a broad transition of scholarly society journals to non-commercial open access models, growing competencies for "Publish-and-Read" strategies, and a noticeable increase in the acceptance of open science principles. At the same time, targeted cascading funding aims to establish reforms of evaluation and accreditation processes that place qualitative peer review procedures at the center and appropriately recognize diverse scientific contributions. Accompanying measures include the development of guidelines, training materials, and business models, as well as the launch of calls for pilot proposals. Electronic applications via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal are possible until 12 March 2026. Institutional change processes that contribute to inclusive, gender-equitable, and geographically diverse participation will be given special consideration and make a decisive contribution to achieving the ERA objectives.