EOSC Gravity Preparatory Grants Open Call will support preparatory work for potential future Candidate EOSC Nodes, in alignment with the EOSC Federation Build-up process.
The primary objective of the projects will be to prepare a project charter, supporting a future application for the creation of a Node (national, multi-country or thematic).Submissions will be done exclusively via ESF online platform:
-For a first connection, click here
-For subsequent connections: click here
The submission process is supported by the following documents:
1.Online Form: completed via the ESF platform and divided in two sections (1) Preliminary information (2) Submission of a PDF describing the Excellence, Impact, and Implementation of the application
2.Guidelines for Applicants: all the information needed before applying, including annexes with the Sub-Grant Agreement, technical guidelines for the platform, and Detailed payment schedule for successful applicants
3.FAQ section: this section will be available on the call website and regularly updated.
Those documents are available here
The evaluation process will have 5 stages:
- Eligibility check: A filtering to discard non-eligible proposals (Eligible Entities & Countries)
- Pre-Assessment: External evaluators with experience in the EOSC activities will review each proposal. Evaluators will score proposals based on 3 different evaluation criteria (Excellence, Impact and Implementation)
- Review panel: External evaluators will meet in a panel meeting to discuss the different proposals and establish a ranked list.
- Consensus Report: The panel members will then produce a consensus report for each application, summarising the panel discussions. Narrative comments (not scores) from the consensus reports will be communicated to the applicants.
- Announcement of the results: All applicants will be informed about the evaluation process: non-eligible, under threshold, approved but not selected, selected. Each applicant will receive via email the decision and the following steps (if applicable).
For more detailed information, you can consult the Guidelines of the call.
For any question about the process there is a general email address available at EOSC-Gravity-grants@esf.org
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The €800 000 budget of this call will be distributed across several projects (minimum 16), each of them funded with a maximum of €50 000. The duration of each funded project will be 6 months and will start on the 6th of May 2026
The financing provided for each granted project is determined through a lump sum scheme, linked to completion of milestones and deliverables
The grant is awarded to the project coordinator only.
The applicant will have to:
-Demonstrate alignment with EOSC objectives and contribute to the EOSC Federation build-up process
-Clearly define the project scope and present a clear set of objectives aligned with the EOSC Federation build-up process
-Show how the organisation or consortium plans to meet the minimum requirements to become a Node, including governance, technical readiness, and community engagement
-Projects must clearly identify the expected impact, define a robust strategy to maximise the achievement of their objectives, and ensure effective stakeholder engagement throughout the project lifecycle
-Showcase integration with the EOSC Academy, delivering a matrix outlining how project partners and the future candidate Node can support curriculum delivery, including the sharing of materials, documentation, training content, best practices, and use cases for future adoption and reuse.
Eligible beneficiaries
The eligible countries are:
-Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU), including their outermost regions;
-Although Hungary is a MS of the EU, according to Council Implementing Decision 2022/2506, no legal commitments should be entered into with any public interest trust established based on the Hungarian Law IX of 2021 or with any entity maintained by said public interest trust.
-Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) linked to the MS;
-Horizon Europe associated countries at the time the EOSC GRAVITY grant entered into force (October 2024), (except from those only associated to Pillar II) which are: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom and potentially Egypt, Morocco and Switzerland (if association agreements start producing legal effects). Other associated countries not included in this list, are not eligible.
The eligible entities are :
-Potential Candidate Nodes
-Mandated Organisations
-Research Performing Organisations
-Other Parties (organisations, networks, associations) from the wider RI landscape (e.g., organisations who want to become a Node, including from specific or thematic communities)
EOSC GRAVITY consortium partners, their affiliated entities, and their employees, are not eligible and are therefore not allowed to submit a proposal to receive any financial support through the open calls
Maximum funding:
The maximum amount of funding that can be granted to a single organisation for all EOSC Gravity calls combined (3 calls in total) cannot exceed 100.000 EUR.
Language in which application should be submitted: English
Web address for further information: https://eosc.eu/eosc-about/calls-grants/
Email address for further information: EOSC-Gravity-grants@esf.org
Open call submission platform: For a first connection, click here ; For subsequent connections: click here
