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Excellence Hubs aims to strengthen regional innovation through the creation of  ecosystems. It allows for the creation of hubs in at least 2 widening countries and further links between academia, businesses, governments and civil society.

Prior to applying, PIs are also required to confirm that there will be no negative impacts on other responsibilities of staff on secondment, including teaching or the achievements of deliverables for ongoing projects.

Call ID: HORIZON-WIDERA-2027-04-WIDENING-01

This is a Coordination Support Action (CSA). Projects should contribute to ecosystems by joint R&I strategies, common investment plans, new competencies and skills, strengthened links between academia and business, improved knowledge transfer, new business opportunities, inclusion of emerging innovation ecosystems, and EU-wide access to excellence.

The R&I pilot projects should be in line with regional and national strategies, notably regional innovation strategies for smart specialisations (RIS3) taking into account the new innovation Agenda for Europe.

Duration and Consortium Setup: The expected duration of the project is up to 5 years. For complex ecosystems with a large number of members and in absence of an umbrella organisation, it is recommended that the ecosystem is represented in a consortium of with a limited number of core partners (at least 2, one research + one established business partner) who sign the grant agreement. Other partners can be associated with the project, and benefit from the knowledge generated and services offered by the project (e.g. training, study visits), as well as contribute with their expertise to the strategic work of the consortium.

Funding: The programme aims to fund around 30 projects and to contribute around Euro 1 500 000 to Euro 4 500 000 per project.