Digital Europe Programme – Accelerating the Best Use of Technologies (SO5)
2025-09-02 17:00 (Europe/Paris) | Online
Das Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) unterstützt den digitalen Wandel der europäischen Gesellschaft. Am 15. April startet die achte Ausschreibung. Die Einreichfrist endet am 2. September. Ziel der Aktivitäten unter SO5 „Accelerating the Best Use of Technologies “ ist die Unterstützung von KMU und öffentlichen Einrichtungen bei der digitalen Transformation und bei gleichzeitiger Weiterführung bereits begonnener Aktivitäten aus dem DIGITAL.
Was wird gefördert?
Im aktuell achten Call im Digital Europe Programme sind zwei Themen im Schwerpunkt „Accelerating the Best Use of Technologies“ ausgeschrieben. Für aktuelle Informationen zu Events und Informationsveranstaltung der Europäische Kommission (EK) zu den Ausschreibungsthemen beachten Sie bitte die Website Shaping Europe’s digital future der EK.
Sie planen eine Einreichung und suchen nach passenden Partnern? Nutzen Sie die b2match Plattform zur internationalen Vernetzung – organisiert von DEP4ALL, dem Netzwerk der Nationalen Kontaktstellen für Digital Europe.
[TIPP] Am 14. Mai 2025 veranstaltet die EK einen Online Info Day für die beiden ausgeschriebenen Themen. Besuchen Sie die Veranstaltung um weitere Informationen zu den Themen und Ihre Einreichung zu erhalten.
Das Thema European Network of Factcheckers stärkt die Kapazitäten der europäischen Factchecking-Community und soll Faktenchecks in allen EU-Mitgliedstaaten und Sprachen – einschließlich relevanter Minderheitensprachen – verfügbar machen. Dabei soll auf bestehenden Initiativen wie dem European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) und dem European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) aufgebaut werden. Auch assoziierte Nachbar-, Beitritts- und Kandidatenländer sollen einbezogen werden. Gefördert wird ein Projekt zu 100% (Dritte mit 50%). Zur Verfügung stehen 5 Mio. Euro.
Das Ausschreibungsthema Network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs) unterstützt weiterhin nationale Safer Internet Centres (SICs), die Informations-, Aufklärungs- und Beratungsangebote zum sicheren Umgang mit dem Internet für Kinder, Jugendliche, Eltern und Pädagog:innen bereitstellen. Gefördert werden mehrere Projekte zu 50%. Zur Verfügung stehen 42 Mio. Euro wobei die Kosten pro Projekt zwischen 300.000 Euro und 3,7 Mio Euro vorgesehen sind.
Für das Thema Network of Safer Internet Centres besteht die Möglichkeit um nationale Ko-Finanzierung anzusuchen. Voraussetzung ist die fristgerechte Zusendung des vollständig ausgefüllten und firmenmäßig gezeichneten One-Pager per E-Mail an patricia.trinkl@ffg.at und max.arends@ffg.at bis spätestens 21. August 2025. Bitte beachten Sie, dass eine nationale Ko-Finanzierung ab einem Ko-Finanzierungsbetrag von mindestens 100.000 Euro möglich ist. Die Evaluierung der eingelangten One-Pager erfolgt nach Ende der angegebenen Frist. Im Falle einer positiven Evaluierung und verfügbaren Ko-Finanzierungsmitteln erhalten Sie vor Einreichfrist der EK eine Rückmeldung in Form eines “Letter of Intent”. Gerne stehen wir vorab für Fragen zur Verfügung.Im aktuell achten Call im Digital Europe Programme sind zwei Themen im Schwerpunkt „Accelerating the Best Use of Technologies“ ausgeschrieben. Für aktuelle Informationen zu Events und Informationsveranstaltung der Europäische Kommission (EK) zu den Ausschreibungsthemen beachten Sie bitte die Website Shaping Europe’s digital future der EK.

Digital Europe Programme – AI Continent (SO2)
2025-09-02 17:00 | Online
Das Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) unterstützt den digitalen Wandel der europäischen Gesellschaft. Am 15. April startet die achte Ausschreibung. Die Einreichfrist endet am 2. September. Ziel der Aktivitäten unter SO2 „AI Contintent“ sind die Entwicklung von AI Technologien und die Schaffung eines Ökosystems, um Innovation und wirtschaftlichen Wachstum in der Europäischen Union voranzutreiben.
Was wird gefördert?
Im aktuell achten Call im Digital Europe Programme sind fünf Themen im Schwerpunkt AI ausgeschrieben. Für aktuelle Informationen zu Events und Informationsveranstaltung der Europäische Kommission (EK) zu den Ausschreibungsthemen beachten Sie bitte die Website Shaping Europe’s digital future der EK.
Sie planen eine Einreichung und suchen nach passenden Partnern? Nutzen Sie die b2match Plattform zur internationalen Vernetzung – organisiert von DEP4ALL, dem Netzwerk der Nationalen Kontaktstellen für Digital Europe.
[TIPP] Am 5. Mai 2025 veranstaltet die EK einen Online Info Day für das Thema „Digital solutions for regulatory compliance through data“. Besuchen Sie die Veranstaltung um weitere Informationen zu den Themen und Ihre Einreichung zu erhalten.
Mit dem Thema Support to the Secretariat for the Alliance on processors and semiconductor technologies werden Aktivitäten der Industrial Alliance on processors and semiconductor technologies unterstützt. Diese Gemeinschaft bringt die relevanten Akteure aus ganz Europa zusammen, um Europas Fähigkeiten in Design und Herstellung fortschrittlicher Chips zu stärken, technologische Lücken zu identifizieren und so die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und digitale Souveränität zu fördern. Im Ausschreibungsthema wird ein Projekt zu 100% gefördert, das Budget dafür ist 1 Mio. Euro.
Das Thema Multi-Country Project in Agri-Food unterstützt ein länderübergreifendes Projekt im Agrar- und Lebensmittelsektor, das durch den Einsatz digitaler Infrastrukturen die Effizienz, Nachhaltigkeit und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der Branche steigern soll. Zusätzlich soll der Zugang zu Daten, deren Austausch und Wiederverwendung zur Entscheidungsfindung und Innovation gefördert werden. Das Förderbudget der EK beträgt 15 Mio. Euro, Projektpartner werden seitens der EK zu 100% gefördert.
Ziel des Themas Data Spaces Support Centre ist es, die Aktivitäten des Data Spaces Support Centre weiterzuführen und – mit Schwerpunkt auf die Umsetzung – den Übergang von der Planungs- zur Betriebsphase der Gemeinsamen Europäischen Datenräume zu koordinieren. Damit soll eine sichere und vertrauenswürdige Datennutzung über Sektoren hinweg insbesondere für den öffentlichen Sektor und KMU ermöglicht werden. In diesem Thema wird ein Projekt zu 100% mit einem Budget von bis zu 10 Mio. Euro gefördert.
Mit dem Thema Apply AI: GenAI for the public administrations soll die Einführung skalierbarer und übertragbarer generativer KI-Lösungen in öffentlichen Verwaltungen beschleunigt werden. Es werden bis zu vier Pilotprojekte unterstützt, in denen europäische GenAI-Anwendungen entwickelt und in verschiedenen Verwaltungen eingesetzt werden. Insgesamt steht ein Förderbudget von 21 Mio. Euro zur Verfügung. Die Förderquote beträgt 50%.
Ausführliche Informationen zum Topic gab es beim Infotag am 14. April – dessen Aufzeichnung und Folien sind jetzt auch online verfügbar.

Das Thema Digital solutions for regulatory compliance through data unterstützt Projekte, die digitale Lösungen zur automatisierten und datensicheren Erfüllung von EU-Vorgaben erproben, indem sie den regulatorischen Meldeprozess für verschiedene Anwendungsfälle effizienter und datenschutzfreundlicher gestalten. Es werden drei bis vier Projekte gefördert, insgesamt steht ein Budget von 8 Mio. Euro durch die EK zur Verfügung. Die Förderquote beträgt 50%.
Für dieses Ausschreibungsthema besteht die Möglichkeit um nationale Ko-Finanzierung anzusuchen. Voraussetzung ist die fristgerechte Zusendung des vollständig ausgefüllten und firmenmäßig gezeichneten One-Pager per E-Mail an patricia.trinkl@ffg.at und max.arends@ffg.at bis spätestens 21. August 2025. Bitte beachten Sie, dass eine nationale Ko-Finanzierung ab einem Ko-Finanzierungsbetrag von mindestens 100.000 Euro möglich ist. Die Evaluierung der eingelangten One-Pager erfolgt nach Ende der oben genannten Frist. Im Falle einer positiven Evaluierung und verfügbaren Ko-Finanzierungsmitteln erhalten Sie vor Einreichfrist der EK eine Rückmeldung in Form eines “Letter of Intent”. Gerne stehen wir vorab für Fragen zur Verfügung.

EOSC Nodes with federating capabilities for the EOSC Federation
2025-09-18 05:00 - 17:00
Expected Outcome:Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

The EOSC federation will be established as a distributed system of systems, comprising of independently managed EOSC nodes that collaborate to augment their contribution to EOSC users whilst ensuring resilience of the interconnected systems by supporting the common federating capabilities.
Researchers will benefit from unified support aimed at integrating their research environments with the EOSC federation and this coordinated assistance will streamline the alignment of research practices with the EOSC ecosystem.

Scope:The call aims to further develop the cross-domain EOSC system of systems, building upon the results of the previous INFRAEOSC calls[1]. The focus is on developing and expanding the EOSC federation through a network of nodes as baseline elements of the federation model. These EOSC nodes will establish a set of essential federating capabilities, compatible with the EOSC EU Node reference architecture, following the EOSC Federation Handbook and EOSC interoperability framework. They should have a clearly described identity and offer unique value to EOSC users, for example representing a specific thematic domain (e.g. data or computing) or geographical area amongst the Horizon Europe participating and associated countries.
To become an EOSC node, the proposals are expected to demonstrate the ability to assess and address the existing gaps regarding the federating capabilities at technical, legal and organisational level. The proposals are expected to indicate adherence to the EOSC governance structure, federation policies and capabilities. They should also address business models, service management procedures, and technical and semantic interoperability. Furthermore, the proposals should propose a credible plan to ensure the sustainability of the proposed solutions beyond the project lifespan, including how to take over or replicate the federating role currently ensured by the EOSC EU Node[2].
More specifically, the proposals should focus on all of the following aspects:

Satisfy the minimal node requirements as defined by the EOSC tripartite governance[3], and go beyond them by further development and refinement of the harmonized participation model, taking into account the variety of thematic and national dimensions in the EOSC federation. These requirements include:

Compliance with the requirements on the legal status of the organisation;
Compliance with the requirements aiming at large-scale, quality service provisioning;
Capacity to onboard third-party services[4];
Capacity to contribute to and/or take-over the EOSC federating capabilities;
Adoption and integration of the EOSC federation rules and policies, and further refinement and practical adaptation of best practices;
Support to effectively monitor and report the activities of the services provided.

Integrate and offer EOSC core federating capabilities pioneered by the EOSC EU Node, such as Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting, Research Catalogues and Knowledge Graph, Application Workflows, Monitoring and Helpdesk
Contribute to a robust and coordinated strategy for evolving and sustaining the federated governance model for EOSC by fostering effective collaboration and coordination among the other node operators offering federating capabilities. This can be done for example by distributing the work and taking a share in facilitating the identification, selection and integration/enrolment of other organisations interested in becoming responsible for operating an EOSC node and representing various countries, regions and scientific disciplines.
Enrich the existing guidelines and best practices for the onboarding and enrolment processes.
Evolve and refine the EOSC federation specifications to drive the evolution across governance, operations, sustainability and technical interoperability.
Designate and train the EOSC node operators, especially those offering federating capabilities, for high level of responsibilities within the EOSC federation.
Develop and run community engagement and support programmes around the EOSC nodes and the surrounding ecosystem.

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2021-2022/wp-3-research-infrastructures_horizon-2021-2022_en.pdf;
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2023-2024/wp-3-research-infrastructures_horizon-2023-2024_en.pdf
[2] https://open-science-cloud.ec.europa.eu/. Financial support for third-parties (FSTP), that will make value-added data, tools and services ready to be onboarded and available via the node, can be included in the proposals. The FSTP budget will only cover the cost of onboarding.
[3] https://eosc.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/EOSC-A_GA8_20240527-28_Paper-G_Update_EOSC_Nodes_requirements-DRAFT-v240524.pdf
[4] Financial support for third-parties (FSTP), that will make value-added data, tools and services ready to be onboarded and available via the node, can be included in the proposals. The FSTP budget will only cover the cost of onboarding.

FAIR Integration for Enhanced Research Data in the EOSC ecosystem and beyond
2025-09-18 05:00 - 17:00
Expected Outcome:Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

improved findability, accessibility, interoperability and re-usability (“FAIRness”) of research data and other digital research outputs;
wider uptake of and compliance with FAIR data principles and practices by national and European research data and metadata providers, repositories and databases;
operationalisation of the concept of FAIR digital objects throughout the entire research data lifecycle;
enhanced and mainstreamed technical specifications for FAIR digital objects to facilitate the creation of digital objects that are FAIR-by-design.

Scope:The scope of this call topic is centred on advancing the interoperability and integration of research data within the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), in alignment with the broader context of the Common European Data Spaces and cross-sector collaboration. FAIR digital objects provide a conceptual and implementation framework to develop scalable cross-disciplinary capabilities, deal with the increasing data volumes and their inherent complexity, build tools that help to increase trust in data, create mechanisms to efficiently operate in the domain of scientific assertions, and promote data interoperability. Proposals should cover all of the following areas and activities:

FAIR-by-Design digital objects creation: the development of tools that enable the creation of digital objects adhering to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles both from the “source” or as a result of an analysis.
Automated standardisation and data quality assessment: development and provision of automated tools and procedures for standardisation and data quality assessment. This will ensure that data across different domains adhere to common standards, fostering greater compatibility and enhancing overall data quality.
Operational data services specification: delivering technical specifications for operational data services that support the transformation of digital objects into FAIR entities. Such services may include the integration of AI-based tools capable of autonomously operating on data repositories, contributing to the automatic establishment of FAIR practices throughout the research ecosystem.
Interoperability and training to promote the uptake of open standards: the action should make substantial contributions to the development, upkeep and widespread adoption of open standards for metadata, formats, vocabularies, semantics and APIs. Activities should foster compatibility among digital objects across different domains, facilitating seamless data exchange and integration. Training and dissemination activities will facilitate the uptake of these standards, fostering collaboration and compatibility.
Collaboration and alignment with Common European Data Spaces: harmonisation of EOSC technical specifications with those of other Common European Data Spaces.
Interoperability demonstration and content integration: demonstrating the tangible outcomes of applying FAIR tools, standards, and specifications will showcase the achieved interoperability and integration, strengthening the case for data sharing and reuse across disciplines and sectors.
Cross-Sector data utilization: by enhancing content integration from data spaces, industry, and beyond, the reuse of science data in various sectors is to be encouraged. This will ease access to real-life data from other data spaces, fostering its utilization in research and expanding its impact.

These activities will have to be developed in accordance with standards and guidelines defined or adopted by EOSC, promoting data quality and open access practices. To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives and projects contributing to the development of EOSC, including projects funded by the call topics HORIZON-INFRA-2023-EOSC-01-04 – ‘Next generation services for operational and sustainable EOSC Core Infrastructure’ and HORIZON-INFRA-2024-EOSC-01-05 – ‘Innovative and customizable services for EOSC Exchange’. In addition, cooperation is expected with project(s) funded by the call topic HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-EOSC-01. Finally, proposals should build on the work delivered by the projects FAIR-IMPACT and FAIRCORE4EOSC, especially in the areas of interoperability across disciplines and sectors, as well as in the mainstreaming of creating FAIR-by-Design digital objects. This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for the European Open Science Cloud.

Advancing AI-readiness and Machine-Actionability in the EOSC Ecosystem
2025-09-18 05:00 - 17:00
Expected Outcome:Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

EOSC will be advancing AI-readiness and Machine-Actionability (MA) in the ecosystem by offering AI-ready federated infrastructure and easy-to-use platform services for EOSC, in order to respond to one of the main challenges of research infrastructures for AI in science, namely the lack of interoperability between AI/ML solutions.
EOSC will focus on integrating machine-actionable repositories within the ecosystem and demonstrating their reliability and effectiveness by collaborating with repository owners and service providers to implement MA tools and protocols, ensuring seamless integration with the EOSC EU Node.

Scope:Today, the sustainable FAIRification of data can be a bottleneck towards the goal of a European web of FAIR data and services. The use of AI/ML can significantly help in the process of FAIRification, data curation and data quality assurance, close to the source of the data. EOSC shall promote actions that give incentives to further advance AI-readiness and Machine-Actionability in the EOSC federation for FAIRification and to support their application.
European researchers need access to compute and repository services to develop, train and validate AI/ML models, in line with the GenAI4EU initiative and other key initiatives, like the Apply AI strategy, based on AI-ready research data from research infrastructures and third-party repositories. The proposed infrastructures should complement the EOSC EU Node capacity and be able to scale to a large number of users within transnational access to high-value datasets from national and European Research Infrastructure and e-Infrastructure ecosystems.
AI-based assistance tools shall be customised and trained for the discovery and composition of open science resources into custom workflows allowing researchers to discover and interact with open science infrastructures, combining relevant data, software and application assets.
Open Data and Open Research Software are essential for reliable, trustworthy, and transparent AI/ML. They ensure that datasets and algorithms are well documented, accessible, and reproducible, enabling others to validate and understand AI/ML algorithms. This transparency fosters trust, supports ethical standards, and ensures compliance with regulations, particularly important in the field of AI/ML.
The proposals should focus on all following aspects:

Develop and prototype tools to drive machine-actionability in repositories, data, and services, establishing a network of trusted repositories linked to the EOSC EU Node;

formulate open protocols and policies to facilitate effortless data access, transfer, processing, and provenance updates within EOSC’s repository and service network;
deliver AI-based capabilities to make interoperable AI/ML solutions and facilitate the setup of custom workflows for research data processing;
offer tools/services for automatic quality measures of inputs and outputs of the AI/ML models.

Provide federated infrastructure services for serving AI models integrating horizontal and thematic EOSC nodes:

ensure capacities for AI model retraining and inference;
take into account the whole research data life cycle, including raw data retention before AI modelling.

Provide access to an easy-to-use technology platform offering reference implementations and recipes to quickly get started working with AI/ML with limited engineering overhead:

promote and apply state-of-the-art AI/ML operational best practices;
validate reference implementations and share commonly used recipes within EOSC.

Establish and/or provide access to existing AI/ML model repositories and services to serve models for retraining of generic models for specific needs for future predictions and reproducibility:

create AI/ML model repository and enhance FAIRness of existing AI/ML models;
offer services for utilisation of these models, including fine-tuning and inference, thus providing the foundational building blocks for the development of AI applications in EOSC.

Establish an EOSC AI/ML competency centre for the pooling of expertise and coordinated support on AI/ML use of data, compute infrastructure and AI/ML models for the upskilling and technical support of EOSC users and research operators, as a strategic asset that will enable a new paradigm for science production.

The proposers should take into account and leverage on the results of relevant projects in the field, including EOSC Data Commons[1], and the other initiatives and projects contributing to the development of EOSC, especially in the area of machine-actionability and data FAIRification.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for the European Open Science Cloud.
[1] EOSC Data Commons, Grant agreement ID: 101188179 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101188179

Data stewards, skills and training for Open Science and FAIR practices
2025-09-18 17:00
Expected Outcome:Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

Definition of consistent core curricula for data stewards throughout Europe, fostering the adoption of Open Science and FAIR principles.
Enhanced data steward skills, enhancing their ability to manage and interpret complex data.
Advancement of Open Science education throughout all research career stages. Creation and standardisation of open science curricula tailored to researchers at all career stages, promoting consistency and collaboration in Open Science practices.
Expansion and strengthening of existing competence networks, broadening their scope across countries and disciplines and improving their readiness to support the uptake of Open Science and of EOSC. Development of a sustainable coordination network model to support synergies and continued growth.
Mainstreaming transparent, aligned, and interoperable Open Science practices and promoting efficiency and trustworthiness in the management of FAIR digital objects.

Scope:The uptake of Open Science practices and of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) requires dedicated, professional profiles for data curation and data management, as well as equipping researchers with adequate skills and supporting them for the sharing and re-use of FAIR research digital objects. However, at present, data stewards and related profiles lack well-defined career paths, and data sharing and other open science practices are not fully mainstreamed within the research community and are often not recognised in research assessment practices.
The objective of this topic is to foster a stronger culture of Open Science and to address gaps related to the professionalisation of data stewards and to the acquisition and recognition of open science and data management skills at all career levels. This requires the identification of consistent core curricula for data stewards, together with the further development and coordination of competence centres at the European level.
Proposals are expected to cover the following activities:

Coordinating European-level actions to make data steward curricula management consistent and to propose mechanisms to monitor their suitability and possible evolution.
Enhancing data steward and researcher curricula with Open Science and FAIR practices, ensuring adaptability at the different contexts, levels and scientific domains of applicability.
Addressing diverse data steward levels, including support staff and researchers.
Collaborating with existing competence centres to foster Open Science and FAIR networks.
Leveraging national networks and related institutional initiatives for European-level coordination.
Launching outreach programs targeting early-career researchers and less-structured communities.
Offering support to countries and institutions that are underrepresented and bolstering national competence centre networks.

Proposals are expected to build on and align with the European Competence Framework for Researchers (ResearchComp)[1] and with the revised Charter for Researchers[2], which underline the importance of Open Science competences and practices in research careers. Proposals should also seek for synergies with the activities of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) in order to reach a better recognition of open, collaborative practices in research assessment.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives and projects contributing to the development of EOSC. In particular, proposals should take account of the results of the Skills4EOSC and FAIR-IMPACT projects and interact with related initiatives aimed at developing competence centres and at improving FAIR data practices in different contexts, like in research infrastructures, research performing organisation and higher education institutions. In particular, cooperation is expected with project(s) funded by call topic HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-EOSC-02. Proposals are expected to propose adequate measures and tailor its support to different levels and contexts of data stewardship.
Proposals are expected to establish interactions with the operators of the EOSC Federation, in order to ensure alignment with the policies and practices of the EOSC Federation, notably on the area of data interoperability standards, persistent identifiers and others to identify useful tools and resources for the broad EOSC community. This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for the European Open Science Cloud.
[1] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/jobs-research/researchcomp-european-competence-framework-researchers_en.
[2] https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/hrexcellenceaward/european-charter-researchers.

Using Generative AI (GenAI4EU ) for Scientific Research via EOSC
2025-09-18 17:00
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

EOSC will make available the high-quality machine-readable scientific datasets to be consumed by machine-driven Generative AI applications at the service of science in line with the GenAI4EU[1] initiative and other key EU initiatives, like the Apply AI strategy.
EOSC will facilitate the pooling and sharing of high-value data sets originated from EOSC and other data spaces identified as priorities (including, but not limited to, public sector, health, climate, environmental, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, financial and mobility data). The large-scale actions supported by EOSC will include the creation of common data platforms enabling secure and compliant sharing and reuse of sensitive, confidential, proprietary and personal data, as well as large-scale experimentation based on Generative AI, in line with the GenAI4EU initiative and other key EU initiatives, like the Apply AI strategy.

Scope:
The scope of this call is to demonstrate and foster the use of Generative AI for Scientific Research, in line with the GenAI4EU initiative and other key EU initiatives, like the Apply AI strategy, throughout the research data lifecycle supported by EOSC. Generative AI can be used for activities such as writing, data generation and analysis, reporting and many others, for improving productivity. This enables lifting science beyond the human scale by facilitating the deployment and use of smart algorithms, machine learning and AI services onto the Web of FAIR Data. The awareness and readiness of using Generative AI for scientific research must be raised by training activities.
AI-powered natural language interfaces can transform the way researchers interact with open science infrastructures, how they discover and combine relevant data, software and application assets. EOSC should evolve towards offering such capabilities in ways that ensure unbiased and trustworthy responses. This includes adopting FAIR practices, for AI-trained models as well, to address challenges ranging from reproducibility to trustworthiness.
Open Data and Open Research Software are essential for reliable, trustworthy, and transparent GenAI. They ensure that datasets and algorithms are well-documented, accessible, and reproducible, enabling others to validate and understand GenAI algorithms. This transparency fosters trust, supports ethical standards, and ensures compliance with regulations, particularly important in the field of GenAI.
The proposals shall focus on all following aspects:

Enrich the EOSC federation with Generative AI tools for evaluating research data quality, ensuring trustworthiness across the European network of trusted repositories, accessible by humans, machines, and Generative AI services: formulate protocols and policies to facilitate effortless data access, processing, and provenance updates within EOSC’s repository and service network.
Support European research infrastructures to improve the FAIRness of their data, so that they are ready to be combined with data of infrastructures in scientifically neighbouring domains, in order to provide Generative AI-ready data.

conduct pilots to validate the effectiveness and accuracy of the Generative AI-driven data quality evaluation methods, iteratively improving and refining them based on feedback and real-world use cases and removing the potential biases inherited from the training data.

Run community engagement and support programmes for implementing Generative AI in scientific workflows via EOSC:

promote a sound training programme to facilitate the uptake and the use of Generative AI as a means to facilitate the FAIRification of data and data curation;
demonstrate how Generative AI can facilitate quality assessment of FAIR data;
advance the realization of machine-actionable (MA) research data and services, including AI-based systems;
propose protocols and policies to govern automatic data workflows within the network of repositories and services.

The proposals are expected to deliver on one or more of the following:

Develop, promote and support real-life use cases for Generative AI models in scientific research domains, in line with the GenAI4EU initiative and other key EU initiatives, like the Apply AI strategy, such as:

augment datasets in scientific fields that rely on image analysis, such as biology, astronomy, and materials science: by generating synthetic images that closely resemble real data, researchers can expand their datasets, improve model robustness, share anonymized version of sensitive data and generalize better to unseen scenarios;
learn the underlying patterns of complex time-series data, such as sensor readings in environmental monitoring or physiological signals in healthcare: by generating data samples that match the learned distribution, these models can detect anomalies or deviations from normal behaviour;
accelerate materials design and discovery by predicting the properties of new materials without the need for extensive experimental testing: these models can generate novel material structures with desired properties, such as strength, conductivity, or catalytic activity, based on learned relationships between material compositions and properties;
advance drug design and molecular modelling by generating novel molecular structures with desired pharmacological properties: these models can explore vast chemical spaces, predict the interactions between molecules and biological targets, and optimize drug candidates for efficacy and safety;
simulate complex systems and phenomena in various scientific domains, such as physics, chemistry, and ecology: by capturing the underlying dynamics and interactions of the system, these models can generate realistic simulations that mimic observed behaviour or predict future outcomes under different conditions.

The proposers should take into account and leverage on the results of relevant projects in the field, including AI4EOSC[2], iMagine[3], EOSC Data Commons[4], RI-SCALE[5], and other developments within the scope of the GenAI4EU initiative and other key EU initiatives, like the Apply AI strategy.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for the European Open Science Cloud.
Proposals could consider the inclusion of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) research infrastructure in their research infrastructure portfolio for the creation and sharing or high-quality machine-readable scientific datasets to be consumed by machine-driven Generative AI applications. In this regard, the JRC will consider collaborating with any successful proposal.
[1] This call falls under the ‘GenAI4EU’ initiative as in the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic And Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on boosting startups and innovation in trustworthy artificial intelligence ((COM(2024) 28 final of 24.1.2024).
[2] https://ai4eosc.eu/
[3] https://www.imagine-ai.eu/
[4] Grant no 101188179 from the call HORIZON-INFRA-2024-TECH-01
[5] Grant no 101188168 from the call HORIZON-INFRA-2024-TECH-01

COST Open Call 2025
2025-10-21 12:00
Participants are invited to submit COST Action proposals contributing to the scientific, technological, economic, cultural or societal knowledge advancement and development of Europe. Multi- and interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged.
The Open Call Action proposal submission, evaluation, selection and approval (SESA) procedure is fully science and technology-driven and will ensure a simple, transparent and competitive proposal evaluation and selection process, reflecting the bottom-up, open and inclusive principles of COST.
Participants planning to submit a proposal for a COST Action will need to refer to the COST Open Call proposers guidelines and to the Open Call Announcement available on the Documents and Guidelines page.
All proposals are submitted via the dedicated online platform of the COST Association used for grant management, known as e-COST.

COMET-Zentren 2025: Exzellente themenoffene Forschung
2025-11-18 | Online
Exzellente Forschung an COMET-Zentren in Kooperation von Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft

In COMET-Zentren forschen Unternehmen gemeinsam mit Forschungseinrichtungen an einem mehrjährigen Forschungsprogramm.
COMET-Zentren betreiben exzellente, kooperative Forschung auf hohem internationalem Niveau und setzen neue Forschungsimpulse. Sie bauen entsprechende Kompetenzen und Humanressourcen auf und bieten Forscher:innen vielfältige Aus- und Weiterbildungsmöglichkeiten.
Erfolgreiche Zentren zeichnen sich durch die Dissemination von Forschungsergebnissen, sowohl in Form von innovativen Produkten, Prozessen und Dienstleistungen als auch durch eine hochrangige Publikationstätigkeit aus.
Internationalisierung als Qualitätsmerkmal exzellenter kooperativer Forschung zeigt sich insbesondere durch die Einbindung international renommierter Forscher:innen, Organisationen und Unternehmen sowie die Beteiligung an internationalen Projekten.
COMET Zentren tragen im Sinne der SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) zur Lösung gesellschaftlicher Herausforderungen bei und unterstützen die Transformation der österreichischen Wirtschaft bei ihrem nachhaltigen Wandel.

Three open calls to grow the EOSC Federation
2026-02-18 17:00 | Online
Enrolment call of the EOSC Tripartite Governance
This call invites organisations to join the second wave of the EOSC Federation’s build-up phase, requiring them to enrol as an EOSC Node, submit a Project Charter, develop use cases, and demonstrate their capacity to function as a community gateway.
Total funding: No funding is provided through this call
Maximum grant amount: Not applicable

Preparatory grants under EOSC Gravity

hese grants are designed to support the preparatory work of potential future EOSC Nodes. The main objective is to develop a Project Charter for a subsequent, separate application to the Enrolment Call of the EOSC Tripartite Governance.
Total funding: €800,000
Maximum grant amount: €50,000 per project
Read the call text on EU Funding & Tenders Portal

Inter-project grants under EOSC Gravity
This call aims to expand the services offered through the EOSC Federation and to demonstrate the benefits for end users. This can be achieved in two ways: by developing scientific use cases, or by piloting the onboarding of new services into existing EOSC Nodes, without the requirement to become an EOSC Node at this stage.
Total funding: €400,000
Maximum grant amount: €50,000 per project
Read the call text on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal
