Open Call for ERA Talents Programme

Deadline: 26-Sep-2024

The European Commission is seeking applications for the Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) under the topic ERA Talents.

Scope

ERA Talents scheme promotes inter-sectoral collaboration in R&I through cross-sectoral exchange of staff with a focus on Widening countries. With Action 4 of the ERA Policy Agenda (2022-2024), the European Commission aims, amongst other targets, to support and incentivise transformations towards a more geographically balanced talent circulation, increased interoperability of careers across different sectors, and improved employability of researchers and other R&I talent. Within this scope, ERA Talents seeks to support the training and mobility of researchers, innovators, and/or other R&I talents across sectors, focusing on Widening countries.
The proposals should address one or both of following aspects related to improving training and lifelong learning opportunities for researchers, innovators, and other research and innovation talents. In particular:
- training in skills and competences following specific demand from other sectors (notably the business sector), leading to improved employability of individuals, increased access to knowledge for the host organisation, and overall strengthened interoperability of careers between the sectors involved; skills can particularly include entrepreneurship, use of digital tools, knowledge valorisation, intellectual property rights, and the greening of society;
- training to build R&I support capacity in both the academic and non-academic sectors, such as administrative, managerial, and technical staff supporting R&I activities and capacities in their organisations (e.g., data stewards, research managers and administrators, research infrastructure operators, knowledge valorisation officers).
Proposals must involve organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors, exploit the complementary competences of the participating organisations and create synergies between them. It is expected that this action creates a win-win situation for all consortium partners by upskilling their human capital, thereby strengthening their future competitiveness and level of excellence.

Funding Information

The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
- public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
- cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant).

Expected Impact

Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impacts:
- Effective institutional reforms in research institutions in Widening countries;
- Better use of existing research infrastructures;
- Excellent talents attracted in institutions and research infrastructures;
- Reverted brain drain;
- Improved linkages and increased mobility between academia and business, notably by overcoming sectoral barriers;
- Free circulation of knowledge and expertise in line with ERA priorities;
- Improved gender balance and equal opportunities.

Expected Outcome

The ERA Talents action aims to boost interoperability of careers in the academic and non-academic sectors and improve employability of R&I talents across sectors. The action has a centre of gravity in Widening countries. It fits within the overall Union policy of promoting more attractive research careers, implemented through Action 4 of the ERA Policy Agenda 2022-2024, and responds to the Council Conclusions on “Deepening the European Research Area: Providing researchers with attractive and sustainable careers and working conditions and making brain circulation a reality”.
Projects are expected to contribute to several of the following outcomes:
- Strengthened R&I human capital base in Widening countries with more entrepreneurial and better-trained researchers, innovators, research managers and/or other R&I talents;
- Boosted R&I support capacity in academic and non-academic organisations;
- A more balanced geographical and cross-sectoral talent circulation;
- Increased access for private entities to public R&I institutions, including R&I infrastructures and their know-how across Europe and beyond;
- Increased excellence of the research performing organisation in Widening countries;
- A more structured and impactful collaboration between the academic and non-academic sectors;
- Increased research, entrepreneurial and other transferable skills for the R&I talents exchange in the action;
- Improved employability and sustainable career prospects for R&I talents within the academic and non-academic sectors.

Eligible Activities

Projects must focus exclusively on civil applications and must not:
- aim at human cloning for reproductive purposes;
- intend to modify the genetic heritage of human beings which could make such changes heritable (except for research relating to cancer treatment of the gonads, which may be financed);
- intend to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research, or for the purpose of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Projects must, moreover, comply with EU policy interests and priorities (environment, social, security, industrial policy, etc.).
The following activities are generally eligible for grants under Horizon Europe:
- Research and innovation actions (RIA) — Activities that aim primarily to establish new knowledge or to explore the feasibility of a new or improved technology, product, process, service or solution. This may include basic and applied research, technology development and integration, testing, demonstration and validation of a small-scale prototype in a laboratory or simulated environment.
- Innovation actions (IA) — Activities that aim directly to produce plans and arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services. These activities may include prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product validation and market replication.
- Coordination and support actions (CSA) — Activities that contribute to the objectives of Horizon Europe. This excludes research and innovation (R&I) activities, except those carried out under the ‘Widening participation and spreading excellence’ component of the programme (part of ‘Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area’). Also eligible are bottom-up coordination actions which promote cooperation between legal entities from Member States and Associated Countries to strengthen the European Research Area, and which receive no EU co-funding for research activities.
- Programme co-fund actions (CoFund) — A programme of activities established or implemented by legal entities managing or funding R&I programmes, other than EU funding bodies. Such a programme of activities may support: networking and coordination; research; innovation; pilot actions; innovation and market deployment; training and mobility; awareness raising and communication; and dissemination and exploitation. It may also provide any relevant financial support, such as grants, prizes and procurement, as well as Horizon Europe blended finance30 or a combination thereof. The actions may be implemented by the beneficiaries directly or by providing financial support to third parties.
- Innovation and market deployment actions (IMDA) — Activities that embed an innovation action and other activities necessary to deploy an innovation on the market. This includes the scaling-up of companies and Horizon Europe blended finance.
- Training and mobility actions (TMA) — Activities that aim to improve the skills, knowledge and career prospects of researchers, based on mobility between countries and, if relevant, between sectors or disciplines.
- Pre-commercial procurement actions (PCP) — Activities that aim to help a transnational buyers’ group to strengthen the public procurement of research, development, validation and, possibly, the first deployment of new solutions that can significantly improve quality and efficiency in areas of public interest, while opening market opportunities for industry and researchers active in Europe. Eligible activities include the preparation, management and follow-up, under the coordination of a lead procurer, of one joint PCP and additional activities to embed the PCP into a wider set of demand-side activities.
- Public procurement of innovative solutions actions (PPI) — Activities that aim to strengthen the ability of a transnational buyers’ group to deploy innovative solutions early by overcoming the fragmentation of demand for such solutions and sharing the risks and costs of acting as early adopters, while opening market opportunities for industry. Eligible activities include preparing and implementing, under the coordination of a lead procurer, one joint or several coordinated PPI by the buyers’ group and additional activities to embed the PPI into a wider set of demand-side activities.

Eligibility Criteria

Entities eligible for funding
- To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries: –
  - the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions:
    - Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
  - the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States:
    - Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
  - countries associated to Horizon Europe;
    - Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
Specific cases
- Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities are eligible for funding if they are established in one of the countries listed above, or in a country identified in the specific call/topic conditions.
- Associated partners — Entities not eligible for funding (and therefore not able to participate as beneficiaries) may participate as associated partners, unless specified otherwise in the specific call/topic conditions.
- Coordination and Support Actions – To be eligible to participate as beneficiaries (or affiliated entities) in ‘Coordination and support’ actions, legal entities must be established in a Member State or Associated Country, unless the specific call/topic conditions provide otherwise (in which case the general rules for eligibility for funding apply). Legal entities established in a non-associated third country may, however, participate in ‘Coordination and support’ actions as associated partners, unless this is explicitly excluded by the specific call/topic conditions.
- EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law may also be eligible to receive funding, unless their basic act states otherwise.
- International organisations — International European research organisations are eligible to receive funding. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country are eligible to receive funding for ‘Training and mobility’ actions or when provided for in the specific call/topic conditions. Other international organisations are not eligible to receive funding, unless provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.