Piloting a new industry-academia knowledge exchange focussing on companies’ needs (CSA)

This program aims to strengthen European industrial ecosystems by promoting collaboration between academia and industry. It targets Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and companies, with a focus on geographically diverse co-creation teams, ultimately contributing to a human-centred and ethical development of digital and industrial technologies across EU Member States and Associated Countries.

The program funds the development and piloting of a standardized collaboration module designed to facilitate knowledge exchange between industry and academia. It supports projects addressing companies' specific research and innovation needs across various digital and industrial sectors, including AI and Extended Reality. Financial support is provided as grants, with specific limits for third-party involvement.

This Coordination and Support Action (CSA) offers grant funding with an indicative budget of 2,000,000 € for this specific topic. Projects can provide sub-grants to third parties up to 60,000 € each, and co-creation activities are designed for short-term engagement.

Applicants must adhere to the general conditions outlined in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, covering admissibility, eligibility, financial capacity, and award criteria. Consortiums are mandatory, requiring gender-balanced, cross-border co-creation teams. Specific budget restrictions apply to financial support for third parties, and a strong emphasis is placed on openness, transparency, and alignment with Responsible Research and Innovation.

The application process for this call is now closed, having followed a single-stage submission procedure. Evaluation results have been communicated, and grant agreements for selected projects were expected to be signed by June 2022, with public information available subsequently on CORDIS.

This funding program operates under the comprehensive framework of Horizon Europe for the period 2021-2027. Its foundational and governing principles are primarily established by the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and the broader EU Financial Regulation.