Facilitate the engagement of European stakeholders in international digital standardisation (CSA)

This grant aims to empower and financially support European stakeholders—especially from SMEs, R&I institutions, Open-Source communities, academia, and societal actors—to actively participate in the global development of digital standards. The objective is to increase European influence in digital standardisation, improve the skills of European experts, perform gap analyses, provide foresight on emerging technologies, and promote awareness of digital standardisation's competitive advantages. It contributes to the implementation of the EU Standardisation Strategy and related policy initiatives, supporting EU values, competitiveness, and tech sovereignty on the international stage.

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Agency	HORIZON (EU)
Region	EU
Country	N/A
Legal form	Company, NGO, Government organization, Other
Start date	17 Nov 2026
End date	18 Mar 2027
Max funding	Up to EUR 7,000,000 per grant for this topic. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party (FSTP) is EUR 60,000.
Budget	EUR 7,000,000 (for this topic, HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-HUMAN-07, in 2027).
Coverage	A minimum of 75% of the requested EU contribution must be allocated to financial support for third parties (FSTP) selected via open calls.

Grant application conditions

Admissibility Conditions	Proposal page limit and layout must follow Annex A, Annex E, and Part B of the Application Form.
Eligible Countries	Countries listed in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes; some non-EU/non-Associated Countries must have specific provisions for funding.
Other Eligibility Conditions	As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and Operational Capacity	Applicants must be assessed according to Annex C on financial and operational capacity, including possible exclusion.
Grant Legal and Financial Set-up	Up to 4 years after the end of the action, the granting authority may object to transfer of ownership/exclusive licensing of results. Beneficiaries intending to transfer ownership or grant exclusive licences must notify the granting authority (DG-CNECT and HaDEA) in advance.
Financial Support to Third Parties	Up to EUR 60,000 per third party, provided as grants. At least 75% of the total requested EU contribution must go to FSTP via open calls. Selection procedures for FSTP and evaluators must be defined by beneficiaries.
Eligible Costs	Costs take the form of a lump sum as per the Horizon Europe Lump Sum Decision of 7 July 2021.
Reporting and Notification	Formal notification required if a beneficiary intends to transfer ownership or exclusive license of project results, up to four years after action end.
Related Activities Taken Into Account	Applicants should consider previous EU-funded actions (e.g., StandICT.eu projects under ICT-40-2017, ICT-45-2020, HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-21, HORIZON-CL4-2024-HUMAN-03-04).
Documentation	https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-HUMAN-07

Eligible expenses

Evaluation criteria

Business exclusions

Reporting

Application process

Application requirements