Summary of European video games industry EU funding calls for 2023

developer Funding, News

Last updated: 29th September, 2023

EU funding for the games industry is one of the focus areas of EGDF in its advocacy work in Brussels. The full scope of investment in funding calls dedicated explicitly to the games industry or other games industry-related calls for 2023 is as of yet unknown.

For more information, please contact: Nuno Marques at nmarques@r-control.de

If you are looking for European trade associations interested in joining EU project consortiums, please visit: https://www.egdf.eu/euprojects/

Content:

  1. Creative Europe 2023
  2. Horizon Europe 2023
  3. EIT Culture & Creativity
  4. Erasmus+ 2023
  5. InvestEU Equity
  6. Digital Europe
  7. Single Market Programme

 

Summary Table

Programme Creative EU Horizon EU Erasmus+ InvestEU
Organization
Game dev studio 1.1- Video games and immersive content 2.1- AR/VR-empowered digital twins / 2.4 – A world leading European video game innovation system/ 2.12 – Implementing co-funded action plans for interconnection of innovation ecosystems / 2.13 – Expanding Academia-Enterprise Collaborations – –
VR/XR/AR 1.3 – European Co-development 2.2 – Next Generation eXtended Reality (RIA)/2.3 – eXtended Reality for Industry 5.0  – –
Innovation agency – 2.2 – Next Generation eXtended Reality (RIA)/ 2.4 –A world leading European video game innovation system / 2.12 – Implementing co-funded action plans for interconnection of innovation ecosystems – –
VC/fund/investor/accel./incubator – 2.2 – Next Generation eXtended Reality (RIA) / 2.14 – Startup Europe – 5 – InvestEU Equity
Trade association 1.2 – Innovative tools and business models 2.4 – A world leading European video game innovation system / 2.5 – Leverage the digital transition for competitive EU CCIs / 2.6 –  Culture, the arts and cultural spaces for political expression / 2.7 – CCIs for a sustainable climate transition / 2.8 – Re-visiting the digitisation of cultural heritage / 2.9 – Europe’s cultural heritage and arts – promoting our values at home and abroad.  / 2.11- Preparatory action for setting up joint programmes among innovation ecosystems actors / 2.12 – Implementing co-funded action plans for interconnection of innovation ecosystems / 2.13 – Expanding Academia-Enterprise Collaborations – –
Research institution – 2.1 – AR/VR-empowered digital twins / 2.5 – Leverage the digital transition for competitive EU CCIs / 2.6 – Culture, the arts and cultural spaces for political expression / 2.8 –  Re-visiting the digitisation of cultural heritage / 2.9 – Europe’s cultural heritage and arts – promoting our values at home and abroad.  4.2 – Erasmus +  Alliances for Innovation –
Higher Education – 2.13 – Expanding Academia-Enterprise Collaborations/ 2.14 –   Startup Europe 4.1 – Erasmus + Partnerships for Cooperation funding/ 4.2 –  Erasmus +  Alliances for Innovation –

1. Creative Europe 2023

1.1 – Video Games And Immersive Content Development

NOTICE: This call has been updated and no longer requires a previously commercially released narrative game as proof of track record. Now it is only necessary to have a majorly owned and developed video game or (interactive or non-interactive) immersive experience that has been commercially distributed in the period between 01/01/2020 and 01/03/2023.

  • What the funding can be used for? 
    • This instrument might be in particularly interesting for game developer studios. 
    • Aimed at video game development and XR/AR studios to develop video games and interactive immersive experiences with the potential to reach global audiences, as well as improve the competitiveness of the European video games industry and other companies producing interactive immersive content in European and international markets by enabling the retention of intellectual property by European developers.
    • Support will be given to the development of prototypes of interactive narrative storytelling with original content and/or quality gameplay intended for production and global commercial exploitation via PCs, consoles, mobile devices, tablets, smartphones and other technologies.
    • The applicant company must own the majority of the rights related to the project.
    • The following projects are ineligible as work submitted for funding: puzzle games, memory games, sports games, racing games, running games,rhythm/singing/dancing games, social games, quiz games, party games,versus-fighting games, word and spelling games, number games, mind games,even if they have a narrative element. Check full list in section 6 of this document
  • Who can apply? (cumulative conditions):
    • Applicants must be:
      • legal entities (public or private bodies)
      • established in Creative Europe Participating Countries and be in EU Member States(including overseas countries and territories(OCTs)) or listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature (Non-EU Participating countries)
      • entities established and owned by people in one of the countries participating FULLY in the MEDIA strand. When a company is publicly listed, the location of the stock exchange will in principle determine its nationality.
      • A Company whose main objective and activity is video game production/development, (entertainment) software development or audiovisual production (or equivalent) and can demonstrate recent experience in producing commercially distributed eligible works. I.e, able to provide a relevant sales report showing sales in the period between 01/01/2020 and the date of the deadline for submission.
    • Publishing companies are not eligible.
    • Work-for-hire, i.e. projects for which the development or production work was subcontracted to the applicant by another company, is not eligible, nor are projects on which a member of the applicant company has a personal credit. Early Access works are not eligible either because they are not completed works yet and are still being developed.
  • How much funding will be available: 
    • Total call budget is EUR 6.000.000 
    • Maximum possible rate of EU co-financing is 50% of total eligible costs
    • The grant will be a lump sum grant
    • The maximum EU grant per project is EUR 150.000.
    • Pre-financing rate is normally 70% of the grant amount
    • Projects should not normally exceed 36 months (extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment).
  • When?
    • Call opening: 20 October 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 01 March 2023 – 17:00:00 CET (Brussels)
  • For more information please visit: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/crea-media-2023-devvgim

1.2 – Innovative Tools and Business Models (Closed)

  • What the funding can be used for? 
    • This instrument might be in particularly interesting for games industry trade associations. 
    • The aim is to support, among other, video game development studios, publishers, trade organizations, game industry events and local clusters developing and/or spreading projects focusing on tools and/or business models that adress the specific challenges of the audiovisual sector such as discoverability, sequencing of release windows, financing, and territoriality in order to increase the visibility, availability, audience and diversity of European works in the digital age and/or the competitiveness and/or the greening process of the European audiovisual industry.
  • Who can apply? 
    • Applicants must be:
      • legal entities (public or private bodies)
      • established in Creative Europe Participating Countries and be in EU Member States(including overseas countries and territories(OCTs)) or listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature (Non-EU Participating countries)
      • entities established and owned by people in one of the countries participating FULLY in the MEDIA strand. When a company is publicly listed, the location of the stock exchange will in principle determine its nationality.
  • How much funding will be available: 
    • Total call budget is EUR 8.883.198. No limit on maximum per project
    • Maximum possible rate of co-financing is 70% of total eligible costs plus indirect cost flat-rate: 7% of the eligible direct costs
    • The grant will be a budget-based (actual costs, with unit cost and flat-rate elements). This means that it will reimburse ONLY certain types of costs (eligible costs) and costs that were actually incurred for your project (NOT the budgeted costs)
    • Prefinancing rate is normally 40% of the maximum grant amount
  • Projects should not normally exceed 36 months (extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment).
  • When?
    • Call opening: 20 October 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 24 January 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

 

1.3 – European Co-development

  • What the funding can be used for? 
    • This instrument might be in particularly interesting for VR developers interested in co-developing narrative works that are not video games. 
    • The aim is to provide funds to audiovisual production companies to develop works with high creative value and cultural diversity and wide cross-border exploitation potential.
    • Support for the development of a single project for commercial exploitation intended for cinema release, television broadcasting or commercial exploitation on digital platforms or a multi-platform environment in the following categories: animation, creative documentary or fiction.
    • Feature films, animations and creative documentaries of a minimum length of 60 minutes intended primarily for cinematic release;
    • Fiction projects (one-off or series) of a total duration of minimum 90 minutes, animation (one-off or series) of a total duration of minimum 24 minutes and creative documentaries (one-off or series) of a total duration of minimum 50 minutes intended primarily for the purposes of television or digital platform exploitation;
    • Interactive, non-linear fiction, animation or creative documentary projects (e.g. narrative virtual reality projects) of any duration.
  • Who can apply? 
    • Applicants must be:
      • legal entities (public or private bodies)
      • established in Creative Europe Participating Countries and be in EU Member States(including overseas countries and territories(OCTs)) or listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature (Non-EU Participating countries)
      • entities established and owned by people in one of the countries participating FULLY in the MEDIA strand. When a company is publicly listed, the location of the stock exchange will in principle determine its nationality.
      • at least two European independent audiovisual production companies, having signed a co-development agreement specifying the division of tasks and the collaboration on creative aspects.
      • able to demonstrate recent experience in producing internationally distributed works (Check page 11 of this document).
  • How much funding will be available: 
    • Total call budget is EUR 6 500 000.
    • The maximum EU grant per applicant (i.e. per coordinator and per eligible partner) is EUR 60 000, except for co-development of TV series with an intended production budget of EUR 20 000 000 and above, in which case the maximum EU grant per applicant is EUR 100 000.
    • Maximum possible rate of co-financing is 70% of total eligible costs plus indirect cost flat-rate: 7% of the eligible direct costs
    • The grant will be a lump sum grant. This means that it will reimburse a fixed amount, based on a lump sum or financing not linked to costs.
    • Prefinancing rate is normally 70% of the maximum grant amount
  • Projects should not normally exceed 30 months (extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment).
  • When?
    • Call opening: 8 December 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 26 April 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

 

 

2. Horizon Europe 2023

 

Cluster 3 – Research Infrastructures

2.1 – HORIZON-INFRA-2024-TECH-01-04: AR/VR-empowered digital twins for modelling complex phenomena in new RI application

 

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly for AR/VR game and app development companies, and other relevant technological partners.
      • The aim of this topic is to deliver digital twin solutions which advance the state-of-art of European RIs and show transformative potential in RI operations. The solutions should pave way for new ways to conduct experiments by the RIs through AR/VR empowered digital twins. Mixed reality (XR) technologies can also be considered. 
      • The focus is on newer application areas, such as healthcare, safety and security, to understand complex real-world systems, particularly in application areas constrained by specific physical limitations (like radiation, pressure or temperature). The related developments should lead RIs to support new areas of research and/or a wider community of users, including clearly identified and involved industrial, scientific or policy end users and enhance the potential of the RIs in addressing EU policy objectives and socio-economic challenges.
      • Proposals should address all of the following aspects:
        • development of digital twin solutions for RIs that take advantage of AR/VR technologies for interactive visualisation and bring together the available relevant data resources in the specific topical area;
        • include technology validation and prototyping activities to cope with a large and representative application area to test the relevance of the solutions with the needs of relevant industrial, scientific or policy end users;
        • prepare for take-up of the developed solutions by clearly identified and involved industrial, scientific or policy end users, and include relevant training for the operation and use of these new solutions.
      • Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 or higher by the end of the project
  • Who can apply:
      • Consortia should include world-class RIs, like ESFRI infrastructures, European Research Infrastructures Consortia (ERICs) and/or other world-class RIs of European interest
      • Co-design approach with the intended user communities is required due to the specific nature of this topic
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • Total call budget is EUR 24.00 million.
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 12 M would allow the main outcomes to be adressed
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
  • When?
    • Call opening: 06 December 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 12 March 2024 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

Cluster 4 – Digital, Industry, and Space

2.2 – HORIZON-CL4-2023-HUMAN-01-21: Next Generation eXtended Reality (RIA)

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly interesting for companies or educational/research institutions working with XR hardware.
      • The following two types of research and innovation proposals are expected:
        • The development and integration of advanced XR hardware components, for a new generation of XR devices providing greater visual, wearable, vestibular and social comfort. Special relevance should be given to:
          • technological breakthroughs in photonics and new materials 
          • displays and optical elements 
          • more efficient architectures
          • novel systems that cater to the widest range of users, including those that need prescription correction;
          • advanced optical- and photo-detector technologies for sensing systems
          • to innovative XR connectivity components supporting the demanding requirements on latency, data rates and resilience
        • At least one proposal of this type will be funded
        • The development of new solutions aiming to improve the user experience in social and professional XR setups. This includes tools and services for the creation and management of interactive virtual worlds and 3D models, realistic avatars and intelligent agents. The solutions will also seek to enhance the interoperability, performance and accessibility of XR experiences. Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project.
        • At least one proposal of this type will be funded.
  • Who can apply:
      • To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of:
        • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
        • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
        • the countries associated with Horizon Europe
        • some low and middle-income countries
        • full list here
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 26.00 million.
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 5.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
  • When?
    • Call opening: 08 December 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 29 March 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
    • The Commission considers proposals with an overall duration of typically 36 months would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
  • For more information please visit this link

2.3 – HORIZON-CL4-2023-HUMAN-01-22: eXtended Reality for Industry 5.0 (IA)

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly interesting for companies or educational/research institutions working with XR applications, content, tools
      • The following two types of innovation proposals are expected:
        • The development of XR applications to support companies in all industrial ecosystems, especially SMEs, to use innovative interactive and immersive technologies, increasing their competitiveness, productivity efficiency and human-centricity The applications should be robust, gender-neutral safe and trustworthy, especially in terms of cybersecurity, privacy and health issues. Proposals should exploit cross fertilisation between academics, industry representatives and end-users around well-thought-out scenarios. Moreover, proposals should include activities to showcase the results, widely disseminating and exploiting the outcomes. At least one proposal of innovation Type I will be funded
        • The creation of a European reference platform aiming to develop and prototype advanced interoperable XR solutions to solve common challenges encountered by the industry (in areas such as assembly, maintenance, remote operation, training, design, logistics, etc.) placing the wellbeing of workers at the centre of the production process. TThe platform will be populated with third party-projects exploring a wide range of XR technologies and taking benefit of other emerging technologies (such as 5G/6G, IoT, data, artificial intelligence, edge and cloud computing, and microelectronics). In order to facilitate the integration with existing IT systems and policies, the EU XR platform for industry should prioritize XR content, tools and solutions based on open standards, such as OpenXR and WebXR. The solutions provided by the platform should aim to cover as many industry ecosystems as possible. Involvement of end-users is essential in defining specifications and testing. The solutions should aim to cover as many industry ecosystems as possible. Only one proposal will be funded for innovation Type II
        • Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project
  • Who can apply:
      • To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of:
        • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
        • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
        • the countries associated with Horizon Europe
        • some low and middle-income countries
        • full list here
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 5.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
      • As support and mobilising of XR innovators is key to the type ii IA of this topic, a minimum of 60% of the total requested EU contribution should be allocated to financial support to the third parties.
      • For ensuring focused effort, third parties in type ii will be funded through projects typically in the EUR 250 000 to 500 000 range per project, with indicative duration of 12 to 15 months
  • When?
    • Call opening: 08 December 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 29 March 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

Cluster 5 – Culture, creativity and inclusive society

2.4 – HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01-06: A world leading European video game innovation system

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly for games-related research institutions, higher education establishments, public authorities in the field of education and employment, national/regional/local clusters, game associations, and game companies
      • Research should:
        • address gaps in knowledge in the potential contributions of video games to European economic growth, wellbeing, sustainability and social cohesion, and how to mobilise this potential
        • develop recommendations for how to support sustained innovation, growth and competitiveness in the European video games sector, as well as methodologies for how to encourage the uptake of know-how and new technologies in other economic sectors.
        • Projects should involve different member states/associated countries, in order to develop recommendations that are valid on a European scale, and engage with a wide set of stakeholders, including relevant policymakers, to ensure that proposals developed are effective and economically, culturally and politically feasible at a European level
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
        • be legal entities like among other game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
        • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
      • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
      • Normally, pre-financing corresponds to the maximum grant amount divided by number of reporting periods. For actions with only one reporting period, it will be less, since 100% would mean the totality of the grant amount.
      • The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the specific grant agreement
  • When?
    • Call opening: 14 December 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 14 March 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

 

2.5 – HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01-03: Leverage the digital transition for competitive European cultural and creative industries.

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly interesting for games related research institutions, higher education establishments, public authorities in the field of education and employment, national/regional/local clusters, game associations, and game companies
      • Projects should:
        • devise effective and cost-efficient measures to support CCIs(cultural and creative industries) to embrace and make full use of digital technologies for competitiveness and sustainability.
        • choose a suitable set of CCI sector(s), or/and cross-sectoral issues, to focus on, which allow significant impacts to be achieved.
        • Consider a wide array of digital technologies:
          • Analytical technologies such as “big data” or “artificial intelligence” could be used for instance to better understand users’ behaviour, to better plan activities or/and to engage deeper with customers.
          • Visualisation and multi-sensorial technologies such as “virtual reality”, “augmented reality” or “extended reality” could be employed to create more attractive products and services
        • Propose support measures that are effective and efficient across different member states/associated countries, and address the needs of small, micro as well as larger companies. Such measures may involve the use of platforms or networks to facilitate sharing investments, facilities or competencies among several companies or across sectors.
        • set up at least 4 small scale pilot trials under real world conditions to test and refine the proposed support measures. These need to involve at least four different member states/associated countries, as well as CCI companies of different size.
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
        • be legal entities like, among others, game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
        • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
      • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • Total call budget is EUR 13.00 million
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs for non-profit organisations, and 70% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs for for-profit organisations (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
      • Normally, pre financing corresponds to the maximum grant amount divided by number of reporting periods. For actions with only one reporting period, it will be less, since 100% would mean the totality of the grant amount.
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
  • When?
    • Call opening:04 October 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 07 February 2024 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

2.6- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-08: Culture, the arts and cultural spaces for democratic participation and political expression, online and offline

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly for games-related research institutions, higher education establishments, public authorities in the field of education and employment, national/regional/local clusters, game associations.
      • Research should:
        • Look at effectiveness of alternative outlets for political expression at channeling political engagement and assess their inclusivity and representativity, as well as propose methods for improving these facets
        • Evaluate non-conventional spaces, such as public libraries, art exhibition spaces, cultural centres, etc as catalysers for social and economic changes and places for channelling bottom-up political energy
        • Assess how these alternative initiatives can feed into the wider political debate
        • Look at art and cultural productions as vectors of political expression, be it in democratic or non-democratic contexts and how efficient is art activism is in mediating political messages
        • Assess how virtual spaces like the Metaverse may impact democracy and how to ensure that such digital spaces can, by design, have a positive impact on democratic life and can become tools for citizen engagement
        • Investigate cultural activity and engagement, online and offline, as
          political expression, civic participation and political engagement, historically, in
          contemporary society, and to provide forecasts for the future.
        • Research methodologies should include field research and participative methods.
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
        • be legal entities like among other game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
        • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
      • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
      • The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
      • Normally, pre financing corresponds to the maximum grant amount divided by number of reporting periods. For actions with only one reporting period, it will be less, since 100% would mean the totality of the grant amount.
      • The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the specific grant agreement
  • When?
    • Call opening: 04 October 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 07 February 2024 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

2.7 – HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01-02: Cultural and creative industries for a sustainable climate transition

 

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly for games-related research institutions, higher education establishments, public authorities in the field of education and employment, national/regional/local clusters, game associations, and game companies
      • Large parts of the CCIs lack the capacity to take the necessary measures to adapt to and thrive under the climate transition, not to speak of driving this transition. Specific approaches are therefore needed to enable Europe’s CCIs to develop their full potential to support a sustainable climate transition.
      • Projects should:
        • develop and validate an economically sustainable model, or a portfolio of approaches, that address this challenge.
        • select a suitable set of CCI sector(s), or/and cross-sectoral issues, to focus on, which allow significant impacts to be achieved.
        • Develop approach(es) to address the adoption of new sustainable business models, including the use of new technologies and possibly the development or adaption of new technological solutions, as well as gaps in skills and capacities.
        • Result in proposed models that should be valid across different member states/associated countries, and address the needs of small, micro as well as larger companies.
        • involve different member states/associated countries, and engage with a wide set of stakeholders, including concerned policymakers, to ensure that solutions developed are effective and realistic.
        • Where appropriate, seek cooperation with projects funded under the topic ‘Cultural and creative industries for a sustainable climate transition’ of the Horizon Europe Cluster 2 2024 call.
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
        • be legal entities like among other game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
        • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
      • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million. approximately 3 grants
      • 3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
      • Normally, pre-financing corresponds to the maximum grant amount divided by number of reporting periods. For actions with only one reporting period, it will be less, since 100% would mean the totality of the grant amount.
      • The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the specific grant agreement 
  • When?
    • Call opening: 14 December 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 14 March 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

2.8 – HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01-03: Re-visiting the digitisation of cultural heritage: What, how and why?

 

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly for games related research institutions, higher education establishments, national/regional/local clusters, and game associations
      • The uses of digitised cultural heritage, and the strategies that might be pursued in order to reap the full benefits while avoiding the pitfalls, have not been thoroughly researched.
      • Projects should:
        • address these gaps in knowledge, and elaborate evidence-based recommendations on how digitisation of cultural heritage can best be managed, as well as on how digitised cultural heritage can best be used. The European cultural heritage sector is wide and diverse, comprised of many different actors, from large public institutions to independent artists and artisans. Moreover, the context, the cultural heritage itself and the policy landscape often vary strongly between different countries and regions. This diversity must be taken into account when elaborating recommendations, so that these can realistically be applied across Europe
        • In particular, liaise with the projects funded under the “European cloud platform for museums and other cultural heritage institutions” initiative in the frame of Horizon Europe Cluster 2.
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
        • be legal entities like among other game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
        • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
      • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
      • The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
      • Normally, pre financing corresponds to the maximum grant amount divided by number of reporting periods. For actions with only one reporting period, it will be less, since 100% would mean the totality of the grant amount.
      • The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the specific grant agreement 
  • When?
    • Call opening: 14 December 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 14 March 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

2.9 – HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01-04: Europe’s cultural heritage and arts – promoting our values at home and abroad. 

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly interesting for national/regional/local clusters, game associations, games-related research institutions
      • Building on existing evidence, including from projects funded under topic HORIZON-CL2- 2022-HERITAGE-01-02, proposals should:
        • identify creative practices, policies and programmes that aim to increase the attractiveness of the European arts (including digital arts) and culture abroad.
        • collect good innovative practices developed at the EU and national level and develop small-scale pilots that will test their efficiency.
        • Identify and analyse the barriers, shortcomings and needs of the existing policies and practices and propose policy recommendations for improvements.
        • analyse the extent to which the existing practices and policies encourage coordination among countries as well as coordination among bodies at regional and local levels as well as the role and support of the EU on the cooperation and harmonization of the Member States actions, as regards the of European arts’ promotion abroad.
        • propose pilot policy solutions based on a mixed model that will allow cooperation at local, national and European level, better cooperation of the art sectors and the CCIs, while establish strategic alliances with other sectors. The proposed mixed model should be developed and tested in wide and diversified partnerships of stakeholders. Policy recommendations for integrating this innovative mixed model into the arts policies are expected to be developed by the projects.
        • The proposals may also look after the potential impacts of new regulations on the arts sector,
          including the copyright Directive that was adopted in March of 2019, and evaluate their effectiveness as regards their international access to European works of arts and performing arts.
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
        • be legal entities like among other game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
        • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
      • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.00 million
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs for non-profit organisations, and 70% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs for for-profit organisations (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
  • When?
    • Call opening: 04 October 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 07 February 2024 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

2.10 – HORIZON-CL2-2023-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-08: Tackling European skills and labour shortages

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly interesting for educational or training providers, as well as game associations and clusters interested in tackling skill and labour shortages
      • research activities are expected to take stock of the current labour shortages across Europe, by sectors and occupational groups, based on a sound methodology and ensuring that data is comparable across countries. Afterwards, proposals should identify the main causes of the labour shortages, with a particular focus on skills needs and skills gaps. The causes may include working conditions (pay, working hours, OSH, well-being at work, etc) on labour supply.
      • Proposals may:
        • focus on shortages forecast;
        • effect on changing tasks/educational profiles within jobs;
        • have a regional dimension;
        • Explore the impact on labour market polarisation and segmentation;
        • Explore how big data and machine learning can complement conventional data (e.g. surveys and skills forecasts available, such as those of CEDEFOP or of the Pact for Skills)
        • Explore the “determinants” of education choice and training choice: e.g., family background, local labour market, individual risk propensity, welfare, gender, etc.
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
        • be legal entities like among other game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
        • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
      • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
        Total call budget is EUR 9 million.
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
  • When?
    • Call opening: 14 December 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 14 March 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

Cluster 10 – European Innovation Ecosystems

2.11 – HORIZON-EIE-202X-CONNECT: Preparatory action for setting up joint programmes among innovation ecosystems actors 

  • What can the funding be used for?
      • This instrument might be in particularly interesting for national/regional/local clusters, game associations, and research and innovation actors or networks.
      • The topic will allow national, regional and/or local authorities from Member States, Associated Countries and/or EU regions in charge of innovation policies and programmes, in cooperation with the abovementioned parties, to prepare joint multi-annual programmes of activities with the aim of strengthening their efficiency, capacities and interconnection and jointly tackle challenges at EU, national, regional and local level.
  • Proposals should:
      • identify areas and activities of cooperation, to improve the efficiency and performance of Europe’s innovation ecosystems, fostering their interconnection and scale-up while tackling EU, national, regional and/or local challenges;
      • focus on a thematic/technological area of common interest and innovation priorities with an EU added-value;
      • contribute to one or more EU priorities and challenges, including climate action, green deal and digital transformation, the development of rural innovation ecosystems, and should pay attention to gender equality objectives;
      • plan their long-term commitment; consider planning commitments of at least five (5) years;
      • explain the potential for growth and competitiveness foreseen in the targeted sector and/or expected impact on EU challenge(s) through the proposed cooperation;
      • ensure inclusion and diversity with the involvement of all innovation actors applicants from various geographical contexts, including individual innovators, enhance complementarities of EU, national and/or regional funds and programmes and encourage the alignment of their innovation agendas
      • The implementation of the proposed action plans is not part of this topic. For the implementation part, the successful proposals under the topic may seek further financial support from other programmes, including Horizon Europe programme and/or other public and/or private programmes.
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
      • be legal entities like among other game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
      • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
      • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
      • Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal entities from different Member States or Associated Countries.
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • Total call budget is EUR 6.00 million
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 0.50 million per project should suffice for the outcomes of this call
      • Max funding rate is 100% of the eligible costs plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the direct eligible costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
      • Normally, pre financing corresponds to the maximum grant amount divided by number of reporting periods. For actions with only one reporting period, it will be less, since 100% would mean the totality of the grant amount.
      • Lump sum-based
      • The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the specific grant agreement
  • When?
    • Call opening: 22 December 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 23 March 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

 

2.12 – HORIZON-EIE-2024-CONNECT-02-02: Mutual learning and support scheme for national and regional innovation programmes

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly interesting for national/regional/local clusters, game associations, and innovation agencies (public or private)
      • The topic will build on the outcomes of the Horizon 2020 pilot action under the enhanced EIC Pilot Work Programme “Mutual learning and common tools and resources for national/regional schemes supporting innovation projects of start-ups and SMEs”, towards bringing together public innovation authorities and agencies to increase the dialogue and networking towards the provision of advises and financial support to early-stage SMEs and start-ups for the development of their innovative ideas
      • The proposals are expected to include specific activities that will allow applicants to:
        • Enhance the quality of support provided at national and regional levels to the most promising innovative start-ups and SMEs;
        • To improve or set up national and regional funding programmes that could qualify for certification under the Plug-in scheme of the EIC Accelerator;
        • To share best practices in terms of design, functioning, operation, and monitoring of such programmes;
        • To broaden access to information and communicate to the applicants (start-ups and SMEs) on the opportunities to access the national and regional funding programmes and have their chance to be selected under Plug-in scheme to apply to step 2 of the EIC Accelerator
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
        • be legal entities like among other game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
        • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
        • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
        • Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal entities from different Member States or Associated Countries.
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 100000 would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
      • Max funding rate is 100% of the eligible costs plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the direct eligible costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
      • Normally, pre financing corresponds to the maximum grant amount divided by number of reporting periods. For actions with only one reporting period, it will be less, since 100% would mean the totality of the grant amount.
      • The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the specific grant agreement
  • When?
    • Call opening: 06 June 2024
    • Deadline for submission: 19 September 2024 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

2.13 – HORIZON-EIE-2024-CONNECT-02-01: Expanding Academia-Enterprise Collaborations

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly interesting for Vocational schools, higher education establishments, public authorities in the field of education and employment, national/regional/local clusters, game associations, and game companies.
      • The action supports co-designed programmes of activities of at least two (2) years, proposed jointly by educational institutions, research institutions, and other R&I actors from ‘emerging’ and ‘moderate’ innovation ecosystems and the private sector from innovation hubs (‘strong innovators’ and ‘innovation leaders’), to ensure better connectedness between higher education institutions and research organisation with other actors of innovation ecosystems, for example:
        • Engagement of business experts into the implementation of networking activities and building innovation ecosystem around the university/research institution;
        • Engagement of students, graduates, researchers and workforce from various disciplines and departments into the innovation ecosystem, with a focus on networking and building networks around educational and research institutions as centres of gravity, and engaging in companies’ structures and business processes;
        • Engagement of students and researchers in start-ups from both their immediate local environment and beyond (regional, national, transnational) working with various actors from the innovation ecosystem to experience what starting and running a venture entails, such as raising funds, pitching events, creating, editing, and adapting business models in the creation process from idea to market, etc.;
        • Creation of synergies between students, graduates, researchers, innovators, education institutes, research-performing organisations, and business partners, locally, at EU level, and globally targeting the creation of networks and communities of practices in the field of deep tech to stimulate the market uptake of results and new technologies, as well as their co-creation.
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
        • be legal entities like among other game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
        • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
        • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
        • Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal entities, of which at least one (1) is established in ’emerging’ or ‘moderate’ innovator region and at least one (1) in ‘strong’ or ‘innovation leader’ innovator region. Also, at least one educational institution and at least one representative of the private sector. The Regional Innovation Scoreboard is taken as a reference, and in the case of entities representing national authorities, the European Innovation Scoreboard
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.50 million
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 0.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
      • Normally, pre financing corresponds to the maximum grant amount divided by number of reporting periods. For actions with only one reporting period, it will be less, since 100% would mean the totality of the grant amount.
      • Lump sum-based
      • The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the specific grant agreement
  • When?
    • Call opening: 06 June 2024
    • Deadline for submission: 19 September 2024 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

 

2.14 – HORIZON-EIE-2024-CONNECT-01-03: Startup Europe 

  • What the funding can be used for?
      • This instrument might be particularly interesting for Startup ecosystem builders, business angel organisations, venture capital entities, accelerators, incubators, and startup associations.
      • This action will connect local digital and deep tech start-up ecosystems and support crossborder acceleration activities for start-ups that demonstrate traction (i.e. market product fit or at least a seed round raised). Among the start-up ecosystems to be connected, specific attention will be given to the inclusion of ecosystems in ‘moderate’ or ‘emerging’ innovator countries and/or regions.
      • The below list of specific activities, going beyond research and innovation activities, can therefore be implemented under the partnership and are anticipated as expected outputs:
        • Increasing the market footprint of European start-ups in strategic digital technologies and deep tech 55 innovation, notably Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Computing, Cybersecurity, Next Generation Internet, Blockchain, Internet of Things, Metaverse, Energy, Greentech, AgriTech, and Fintech;
        • Better connection of start-ups, including European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and European Innovation Council (EIC)-supported start-ups and Seal of Excellence holders, to relevant local and/or European ecosystems, communities, and potential new markets;
        • A scaling up of capabilities in matching technology solutions developed by highly innovative European Union (EU)-funded digital and deep tech start-ups with investment and growth opportunities in collaboration with other initiatives such as: the EIC, the EIT and the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), InvestEU, the Digital Europe Programme, Women TechEU, public and private buyers, or investors and corporate innovation ventures, and start-up villages
  • Who can apply:
      • The applicants must:
        • be legal entities like among other game developer studios, publishers, game education/research institutions, games trade associations
        • be established in one of the following:
        • EU Member States
        • Countries associated to Horizon Europe (includes Norway and UK);
        • For a full list of the eligible countries, check Section 8 of this document
        • At least 50% of the partners in a consortium come from ‘modest’ or ‘emerging’ innovator countries
        • The European Innovation Scoreboard is taken as a reference. The applicants must use as a reference the latest version of the Scoreboard at the time of the call closure
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
      • The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million
      • The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.5-2.0 million per project should suffice for the outcomes of this call
      • Max funding rate is 100% plus indirect cost flat-rate of 25% of the eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).
      • Normally, pre financing corresponds to the maximum grant amount divided by number of reporting periods. For actions with only one reporting period, it will be less, since 100% would mean the totality of the grant amount.
      • The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the specific grant agreement 
  • When?
    • Call opening: 11 January 2024
    • Deadline for submission: 25 April 2024 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

2.15 – HORIZON-EIC-EIT-2023-WomenInnovatorsPrize: EU Prize for Women Innovators

The European Prize for Women Innovators celebrates the women entrepreneurs behind Europe’s most ground-breaking innovations. The prize rewards women from across the EU and countries associated to Horizon Europe, whose disruptive innovations are driving positive change for people and planet.

The ‘Women Innovators’ category is open to all women founders and co-founders from across the EU and Associated Countries. The winner is awarded EUR 100 000, and two runners-up are awarded EUR 70 000 and EUR 50 000 respectively.

The Rising Innovators category is open to promising young innovators under the age of 35. The winner is awarded EUR 50 000, and two runners-up are awarded EUR 30 000 and EUR 20 000 respectively.

The EIT category is open to those with a direct link to the EIT Community or one of the existing Knowledge and Innovation Communities. The winner is awarded EUR 50 000, and two runners-up are awarded EUR 30 000 and EUR 20 000 respectively.

  • Who can apply:
      • In order to be eligible, the applicant must be a woman legally established in one of the following eligible countries:
        • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories, OCTs)countries associated to the Horizon Europe programme.
      • The applicant must be the founder or co-founder of the company or organization applying
      • The company or organization must be established in an EU Member State (including overseas countries and territories, OCTs) or a country associated to Horizon Europe, and registered or incorporated at least two years before the call year.
      • Applicants who have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize for the same activities
      • In addition to the above, those applying for the EIC Rising Innovators category must be aged under 35 at the start of the call year
      • In addition, those applying for the EIT category must have a direct link to the EIT Community / one of the existing Knowledge and Innovation Communities.
  • When?
    • Call opening: 15 June 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 27 September 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

3. EIT Culture & Creativity

Who can apply?

  • Organisations from non-associated countries may also request to participate in the activities, providing that they can demonstrate self-financing from their own funds or state funds.

General Financing Rules

  • Eligible costs, indirect costs and co-funding EIT Culture & Creativity adheres to the Horizon Europe principles regarding eligible costs, indirect costs and co-funding. Indirect costs (25% of the eligible direct costs). For more details on eligible costs, please consult Article 6 of the General Model Grant Agreement.

Short Glossary

  • CCSI: Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries (CCSI)
  • RIS: Regional Innovation Scheme of the EIT to boost the innovation performance of countries with moderate or modest innovation scores as defined by the European Innovation Scoreboard. For more information on RIS, please see here  

3.1 – EDUCATION

3.1.1 – Action Programme 1: Talent Scaler (Call 1)

The objective of this Call is to develop new EIT labelled Master’s programmes that advance and future proof the European CCSI. These programmes will empower the next generation of socially conscious graduates with the skills and experience to foster societal transformation and economic development through creative thinking and the arts. This call is particularly interesting for game-related Higher Education Institutions, or national/regional/local clusters, and game associations interested in contributing to educational content development.

 

  • What the funding can be used for?
    • Strand 1: Enhancement of existing Master’s programmes:
      •  New curricula developed within existing Master’s programmes by developing and implementing new, relevant modules.
      • The proposed additional modules could also be delivered for example through blended learning, hybrid summer/winter schools, MOOCs, etc.
      • The new modules should focus on:
        • Future skills and new technologies
        • Societal transformation and sustainability through CCSI
        • Ethical and sustainable entrepreneurship in CCSI
        • Creativity as skill for innovation
    • Strand 2: New Master’s programmes:
      • New Master’s programmes linking sustainability, aesthetics and inclusiveness inspired by the New European Bauhaus values, with innovation, business and entrepreneurship capacity.
      • The programmes promote hybrid learning experience
      • Master’s programmes that build capacity and transversal skills of students in one or more of the following areas:
        • Creative practices and new technologies
        • Societal transformation and sustainability through design and the arts
        • Ethical and sustainable entrepreneurship in the arts, digital and design 

How much funding is available and under what conditions? 

  • Estimated total EIT budget for this Call in 2024  €1,400,000
  • Maximum grant per project:
    • €300,000 per year, for three years (2024-2026)
    • €500,000 per year, for four years (2024-2027)
  • Consortia can apply for full financing. However, co-funding is encouraged.
  • We are aiming to finance four new Master’s programmes in two different Strands.
  • The activity must be coordinated by a Higher Education Institution. Consortia must consist of at least two Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and at least two non-academic institutions. The consortia’s partners must be from at least two different EU or associated countries, with at least one from a RIS eligible country. 

 

Mandatory KPI(s)

EITHE07.01: No of graduates from EIT-labelled programmes. A minimum target of 25 students graduating in the first iteration of the programmes is required.

The key dates for this Call are:

  • 03 April 2023: Call Opening
  • 25 April 2023 (10 – 1pm CET): EIT Culture & Creativity Infoday
  • 31 May 2023 (4pm CET): Deadline for submitting a Full Proposal (FP)
  • Mid-September: Communication of results to all applicants

 

3.1.2 – Action Programme 2: Skills Fitter (Call 2)

The objective of this Call is to support the development and delivery of new lifelong learning courses, renewing and refreshing the skills of professionals and practitioners active in CCSI fields. The activities shall provide structured access to crucial entrepreneurial and cross-cutting competencies such as business and financial management, use of emerging technologies for improving their competitiveness, and ethical, sustainable and business models. This call is particularly interesting for game-related Higher Education Institutions, VET (vocational Education and training) providers, or national/regional/local clusters, and game associations interested in contributing to educational content development.

 

  • What the funding can be used for?
    • Consortia that design and implement a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course consisting of approximately 4 independent modules, for a total of around 30 hours.
    • Courses shall clearly fit within the ISCED fields of education related to EIT Culture & Creativity (Arts and humanities;Social sciences, journalism and information; Business and administration; information and Communication Technologies (ICTs); Materials; Textiles,  Architecture and town planning
    • Courses use ‘learn by doing’, action-based and challenge-based learning methodologies and that will facilitate collaborative working to develop skills, knowledge and ideas that can be applied to participants’ professional projects.
    • These shall build participant’s capacity and skills in at least one the following thematic areas:
      • Use of digital tools such as digital marketing and social media, digital content and distribution, e-commerce, emerging web technologies like blockchain based authentication, virtual exhibitions and curation to improve competitiveness within the CCSI sectors.
      • Use of data analytics in areas such as audience development and relationship building, data for creating, measuring and articulating value and impact, and data-based decision making and developing new business models for improving internal processes and decisionmaking in CCSI.
      • Develop business-oriented skills for CCSI avenues and enterprises. Examples include areas such as strategic planning, financial management, project management, fundraising and social entrepreneurship, alternative and ethical business models.
      • Skills that support the creation of strategies and practices for sustainable development relevant for CCSI 
      • Develop intrapreneurship skills that unlock creativity and develop innovative ideas and solutions within the workplace.

 

  • How much funding is available and under what conditions? 
      • Estimated total EIT budget for this Call in 2024 is €1,250,000 
  • Maximum grant per project: €250,000 per year, for two years (2024 -2025)
    • Consortia can apply for full financing in 2024 and 2025. However, co-funding is
    • encouraged.
    • Aiming to finance five courses – one each in the areas identified above.
    • The consortium must include partners from at least three different countries (of which at least one must be a partner from a RIS region), and must include at least one academic institution or VET provider.

 

Mandatory KPI(s)

EITHE07.01: No of graduates from EIT-labelled programmes. A minimum target of 120 graduates after the second year is required.

 

The key dates for this Call are:

 

  • 03 April 2023: Call Opening
  • 25 April 2023 (10 – 1pm CET): EIT Culture & Creativity Infoday
  • 31 May 2023 (4pm CET): Deadline for submitting Expression of Interest (EoI)
  • 10 July 2023: Completion of the evaluation of EoIs and Communication of results to all EoI applicants. The highest ranked proposals will be invited to submit a full proposal
  • 14 August 2023: Deadline for submitting a Full Proposal & Call Closing
  • Mid-September: Communication of results to all applicants

 

3.2 – INNOVATION

3.2.1 -Action Programme 3: Breakthrough Lab (Call 3)

The objective of this Call is to support innovations building on creative solutions to tackle the major challenges facing the CCSI as well as global challenges addressed by CCSI. We aim for projects that develop disruptive products and services that can be used in the CCSI and beyond targeting mainly five high impact markets Architecture, Audio-visual, Cultural Heritage, Design and Fashion and Textile. This Call is particularly interesting for national/regional/local clusters, game associations, innovation agencies or game developers who are working on an innovative design/product/process/service or business model that aims to be income generating, and focused on one of the above-mentioned areas

 

What the funding can be used for?

    • Projects supported as part of the Breakthrough Lab will be ‘close to market’ and will lead to income-generating innovations within 24 months from the start of the project
    • Innovation activities in the following areas:
      • Architecture: innovative and scalable designs or products for new or renovated buildings and/or public spaces that will effectively contribute to climate-neutrality.
      • Audio-visual: development and testing of innovative products, processes, or services for audio visual industry applications that can demonstrate use of emerging technologies for environmental sustainability or new models in the Metaverse, of IP monetization or for fair remuneration of creatives as well as innovative distribution of contents.
      • Cultural heritage: innovative products and business models that contribute to the preservation and dissemination of European cultural heritage, tangible or intangible, and provides revenue streams or new forms of value generation that ensure the financial sustainability of the heritage site or activity.
      • Design: development and testing of innovative products, processes, and services that significantly improve existing solutions by developing novel criteria and approaches, in terms of ecological aspects, eg. environmental protection but also providing future oriented proposals for social and economic sustainability and prosperity. Fashion and textile:use of digital technologies and/or new materials to create new no-waste or net-zero products, processes, services or business models.
      • ‘Wild card’: ‘unexpected’ innovations that do not fit into any of the focus areas identified above.
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions? 
      • Estimated total EIT budget for this Call is €5,000,000
      • Maximum grant per project: €500 000.
      • Consortia must provide a minimum of 30% co-funding
      • Aiming to finance 10 projects through this Call. Projects last one year
      • The consortia must consist of at least two independent organisations from two different EU or associated countries, with at least one partner from the CCSI and one SME.

Mandatory KPI(s)

EITHE02.4: Innovations launched on the market (sales revenue ≥ 10K€). A minimum target of one innovation is required.

 

The key dates for this Call are expected to be:

 

  • 03 April 2023: Call Opening
  • 25 April 2023 (10 – 1pm CET): EIT Culture & Creativity Infoday
  • 31 May 2023 (4pm CET): Deadline for submitting a Full Proposal (FP)
  • Mid-September: Communication of results to all applicants

 

3.3 – CREATION

3.3.1 – Action Programme 5: Venture Factory (Call 4)

The objective of this Call is to support the creation and growth of sustainable CCSI businesses that share EIT Culture & Creativity’s vision of the future. Building on the growth and impact potential of CCSI enterprises we look for business support programmes such as incubation and acceleration that cater to the specificities of CCSI and support scalable, business-savvy ventures both for profit and non-profit. This Call is particularly interesting for national/regional/local clusters, game associations, or incubation/accelerator centers interested in developing high quality incubator or accelerator programmes for founders and startups

 

  • What the funding can be used for?
    • Development and delivery of fit-for-purpose incubation and / or accelerator programmes for CCSI businesses of high standard, and able to deliver impact, results and scalability the KIC is targeting in terms of growth of the sector and financial sustainability.
    • Divided in two strands, Strand 1 and Strand 2.
    • For both Strands, the CCSI specific incubation and acceleration programmes shall:
      • target founders and startups from CCSI;
      • be focused on CCSI specific value and venture models, the core economics of the business model, revenue generation for profit and non-profit venture models, and support during the first stages of the startup, i.e., incubation and acceleration;
      • cover topics such as business validation methodologies, market and customer understanding, financing, intellectual property in the CCSI, etc;
      • cover activities including – but not limited to – training, expertise sharing, investment readiness, and bespoke workshops led by industry leaders and mentors;
      • go beyond the state of the art, for example through cross-domain & -sector collaborations, industry cooperations or learning formats;
      • attract investors and financing opportunities for the startups and scaleups being supported through the programmes;
      • ensure that EIT Culture & Creativity has full access to the participating startups and scale-ups;
      • ensure that the programmes are branded as EIT Culture & Creativity services.
    • Strand 2 is a specific Call for capacity-building in RIS regions where bespoke CCSI business creation and business support programmes are currently lacking. EIT Culture & Creativity is looking to support organisations seeking to develop these programmes in one or more RIS region, supporting founders / startups from these regions.

 

  • How much funding is available and under what conditions? 
      • Estimated total EIT budget for this Call is €5,000,000
      • Maximum grant per project:  €325 000 per year for two years.
    • Strand 1:
      • Consortia must provide a minimum of 20% co-funding
      • at least two independent business support organisations from two different EU or associated countries are required
      • Aiming to finance 3 programmes
    • Strand 2:
      • No co-funding is required. However, co-funding is encouraged.
      • at least one of the business support organisations must be from a RIS eligible region.
      • Aiming to finance 1 programme
    • Each programme must be at least 6 months in length, delivered in English, and support 5 to 10 founders /startups 

 

Mandatory KPI(s)

Strand 1: 

  • EITHE03.1: Supported start-ups/scale-ups (minimum target of 5 registered companies supported)
  • EITHE06.1:  Investment attracted by KIC-supported start-ups and scale-ups (minimum target of an average €50k/company). 

Strand 2: 

  • EITHE03.2-EITRIS: Supported start-ups/scale-ups registered in RIS (minimum target of 5 registered companies supported)
  • EITHE06.1:  Investment attracted by KIC-supported start-ups and scale-ups (minimum target of an average €50k/company).

 

The key dates for this Call are expected to be:

 

  • 03 April 2023: Call Opening
  • 25 April 2023 (10 – 1pm CET): EIT Culture & Creativity Infoday
  • 31 May 2023 (4pm CET): Deadline for submitting a Full Proposal (FP)
  • Mid-September: Communication of results to all applicants

 

3.4 – SOCIETY

3.4.1 – Action Programme 8: Community Catalyser (Call 5)

The objective of this Call is to address the social fragmentation by providing spaces for communities to cohesively create a future of Europe for all. Specifically, the activities will seek to strengthen the sense of belonging by fostering civic participation and encouraging social and cultural entrepreneurship through CCSI-driven social innovation, resulting in products, services and models that address social needs while create social relationships and form new collaborations. This Call is particularly interesting for national/regional/local clusters, game associations, researchers or game developers who want to develop initiatives that contribute to social and cultural cohesion and local environmental challenges.

 

  • What the funding can be used for?
    • Activities that leverage creative and cultural approaches enabling local communities to develop and implement innovative solutions for shared or similar challenges. These approaches may build on any of the creative and cultural subsectors(e.g., audiovisual, videogames, performing arts, music, architecture, design, culture, heritage or the arts).
    • All initiatives must lead to clear innovations with scalable and replicable potential that increase both the social and cultural cohesion in the communities as well as increasing a sense of belonging and empowerment
    • Activities shall also contribute to addressing local-based environmental challenges

 

  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
    • Estimated total EIT budget for this Call in 2024 is €1,500,000. 
    • Maximum grant per project:  €250,000 per project (one year)
    • Looking to finance 6 projects
    • Consortia must provide a minimum of 20% co-funding.
    • Each project supported needs to demonstrate the capacity to meaningfully engage participants from civil society and for lowering potential barriers for access (e.g., physical, technical, cognitive, sociocultural). Specific projects with refugees or newcomers are encouraged.
    • Consortia must consist of at least three independent organisations from three different EU or associated countries, of which at least one must be a partner from a RIS region. At least one partner must be a civil society organisation and at least one partner must be an SME.  Participation of microenterprises or start-ups is encouraged.
    • Consortia need to design an impact monitoring strategy with quantifiable and qualitative results and data that can measure the long-term effects of CCSIs- led innovations, to facilitate the future replication and scale-up of new initiatives.

 

Mandatory KPI(s)

Consortia must select either EITHE02.4 (option A): Innovations launched on the market (sales revenue ≥ 10K€) (minimum target of one innovation is required), or EITHE04.4 (option B): Start-ups created (financial transaction ≥ 10K€) – (minimum target of one startup is required).

 

The key dates for this Call are expected to be:

  • 03 April 2023: Call Opening
  • 25 April 2023 (10 – 1pm CET): EIT Culture & Creativity Infoday
  • 31 May 2023 (4pm CET): Deadline for submitting Expression of Interest (EoI)
  • 10 July 2023: Completion of the evaluation of EoIs and Communication of results to all EoI applicants. The highest ranked proposals will be invited to submit a full proposal
  • 14 August 2023: Deadline for submitting a Full Proposal & Call Closing
  • Mid-September: Communication of results to all applicants

4. Erasmus+ 

Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe.

4.1 Erasmus + Partnerships for Cooperation

This action enables participating organisations to gain experience in international cooperation and to strengthen their capacities. In 2023, partnerships for cooperation must address one or more of the following horizontal priority areas:

  • Inclusion and diversity in all fields of education, training, youth and sport
  • Environment and fight against climate change
  • Addressing digital transformation through development of digital readiness, resilience and capacity
  • Common values, civic engagement and participation

In addition to the general priorities mentioned above, specific priorities in the fields of higher education, school education, vocational education and training, adult education, and youth will be pursued in their respective sectors (check pages 218-225 of this document for the full list).

Two types of partnerships are offered to organisations for working, learning and growing together:

  • Cooperation Partnerships
  • Small-scale Partnerships

ERASMUS-SPORT-2023-SCP Cooperation Partnerships 

  • What the funding can be used for?
    • Cooperation Partnerships are aimed at activities that:
      • Increase quality in the work, activities and practices of organisations and institutions involved, opening up to new actors, not naturally included within one sector;
      • Build capacity of organisations to work transnationally and across sectors;
      • Address common needs and priorities in the fields of education, training, youth and sport;
      • Enable transformation and change (at individual, organisational or sectoral level), leading to improvements and new approaches, in proportion to the context of each organisation.Cooperation Partnerships are aimed at activities that:
    • To be considered for funding, Cooperation Partnerships must address either:
      • at least one horizontal priority and/or
      • at least one specific priority relevant to the field of education, training, youth and sport that is mostly impacted (check pages 218-225 of this document) 
    • All the activities of a Cooperation Partnership must take place in the countries of the organisations participating in the project (check page 228 of this document for exceptions  in venue of the activities).
  • Who can apply?
    • Developers, publishers, local clusters, trade associations and education institutions active in any field of education, training, youth, sport or other socio-economic sectors as well as organisations carrying out activities that are transversal to different fields. Cooperation Partnerships should involve the most appropriate and diverse range of partners, and a minimum of three organisations from three different EU Member States and third countries associated with the Programme (check page 31-35 of this document).
    • Coordinators must be a legal entity in:
      • EU Member States
      • Countries associated with the programme (Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, North Macedonia, Turkey and Serbia). 
      • In addition, in accordance with article 20 of the Regulation, legal entities from third countries non-associated to the Programme can be eligible in Erasmus+ actions in duly justified cases and in the Union interest
      • organisations from Belarus (Region 2) and the Russian Federation (Region 4) are not eligible to participate in this action.
    • Partner organizations can be legal entities in:
      • Almost all countries. For a full list of the eligible countries, check page 31-35 of this document;
      • Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City State, Faroe Islands, Switzerland, Belarus and the UK can not participate.
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions? 
    • Max funding rate is a choice between 3 single lump sums, corresponding to the total grant amount for the project: 120 000 EUR, 250 000 EUR and 400 000 EUR. 
    • Project budgets are expected to be complemented with other funding sources, therefore the expected overall cost of the project shall be higher than the fixed lump sum amount requested. 
    • The condition for the full payment of the grant is the completion of all the activities in line with the quality criteria described in the application.
    • National Agencies or the Executive Agency may decide to split the first pre-financing payment into more installments. They may also decide to reduce the pre-financing or not pay any pre-financing at all, if the financial capacity of the beneficiary is deemed weak. 
    • Project duration: Between 12 and 36 months (may be extended)
  • When?
    • Call opening: 17 January 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 22 March 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information please visit this link

ERASMUS-SPORT-2023-SSCP Small-Scale Partnerships

  • What the funding can be used for?
    • Besides the same objectives as cooperation partnerships (see above), small-scale partnerships also aim at activities that:
      • Attract and widen access for newcomers, less experienced organisations and small-scale actors to the programme. These partnerships should act as a first step for organisations into cooperation at European level.
      • Support the inclusion of target groups with fewer opportunities.
      • Support active European citizenship and bring the European dimension to the local level.
      • To be considered for funding, small-scale Partnerships must address either:
        • at least one horizontal priority and/or
        • at least one specific priority relevant to the field of education, training, youth and sport that is mostly impacted (check pages 218-225 of this document) 
        • All the activities of a Cooperation Partnership must take place in the countries of the organisations participating in the project (check page 228 of this document for exceptions  in venue of the activities).
  • Who can apply?
    • Developers, publishers, local clusters, trade associations and education institutions active in any field of education, training, youth, sport or other socio-economic sectors as well as organisations carrying out activities that are transversal to different fields. Cooperation Partnerships should involve the most appropriate and diverse range of partners, and a minimum of two organisations from two different EU Member States and third countries associated with the Programme(check page 31-34 of this document).
    • Coordinators must be a legal entity in:
      • EU Member States
      • Countries associated with the programme (Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, North Macedonia, Turkey and Serbia). 
      • In addition, in accordance with article 20 of the Regulation, legal entities from third countries non-associated to the Programme can be eligible in Erasmus+ actions in duly justified cases and in the Union interest
      • organisations from Belarus (Region 2) and the Russian Federation (Region 4) are not eligible to participate in this action.
    • Partner organizations can be legal entities in:
      • Almost all countries. For a full list of the eligible countries, check page 31-35 of this document;
      • Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City State, Faroe Islands, Switzerland, Belarus and the UK can not participate
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions? 
    • Max funding rate is a choice between 2 single lump sums: 30 000 EUR, and 60 000 EUR. 
    • Project budgets are expected to be complemented with other funding sources, therefore the expected overall cost of the project shall be higher than the fixed lump sum amount requested.
    • National Agencies or the Executive Agency may decide to split the first pre-financing payment into more installments. They may also decide to reduce the pre-financing or not pay any pre-financing at all, if the financial capacity of the beneficiary is deemed weak.
    • Project duration: Between 6 and 24 months (may be extended).
  • When?
    • Call opening: 17 January 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 22 March 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information, please visit this link

4.2 -Erasmus + Alliances for Innovation

Alliances for Innovation aim to strengthen Europe’s innovation capacity by boosting innovation through cooperation and flow of knowledge among higher education, vocational education and training (both initial and continuous), and the broader socio-economic environment, including research.

ERASMUS-EDU-2023-PI-ALL-INNO Alliances for Education and Enterprises 

  • What the funding can be used for?
    • Alliances for Education and Enterprises intend to achieve one or more of the following aims:
      • Fostering new, innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning: fostering innovation in education design and delivery, teaching methods, assessment techniques, learning environments and/or developing new skills;
      • Fostering corporate social responsibility (e.g. equity, inclusion, climate change, environmental protection and sustainable development);
      • Stimulating a sense of initiative and entrepreneurial attitudes, mind-sets and skills in learners, educational staff and other workers, in line with the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp);
      • Improving the quality and relevance of skills developed and certified through education and training systems (including new skills and tackling skills mismatches);
      • Facilitating the flow and co-creation of knowledge between higher education and vocational education and training, research, the public sector and the business sector;
      • Building and supporting effective and efficient higher education and vocational education and training systems, which are connected and inclusive, and contribute to innovation
    • At least one of the following activities (full list in pages 281-282 of this document) must be included:
      • Boosting innovation
      • Developing a sense of initiative and entrepreneurial mind-sets, competences and skills
      • Stimulating the flow and exchange of knowledge between higher education, VET, enterprises and research
      • Identifying resilience-related, market needs and emerging professions
  • Who can apply?
    • Who can participate?
      • Higher education institutions, VET providers, game developers, publishers, game research institutes, local/regional/national clusters, and trade associations, etc. (check page 277 of this document for the full list). 
      • Alliances for Education and Enterprises must cover at least 4 EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme, involving a minimum of 8 full partners. The partnership must include at least 3 labour market actors (companies, or chambers, trade unions or trade associations) and at least 3 education and training providers, as full partners. There should be at least one HE institution and one VET provider involved as full partner in each proposal.
    • Any full partner must legally established in: 
      • EU Member States
      • Countries associated with the programme (Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, North Macedonia, Turkey and Serbia).
      • Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City State, Faroe Islands, Switzerland, Belarus and the UK can not participate.
      • Exception: organisations from Belarus Region 2) and the Russian Federation (Region 4) are not eligible to participate in this action
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions? 
    • The maximum EU grant per project is as follows:
      • 1 million euros for 2 year projects
      • 1,5 million euros for 3 year projects
    • National Agencies or the Executive Agency may decide to split the first pre-financing payment into more installments. They may also decide to reduce the pre-financing or not pay any pre-financing at all, if the financial capacity of the beneficiary is deemed weak. 
  • When?
    • Call opening: 29 November 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 03 May 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information, please visit this link

4.3 – ERASMUS-EDU-2023-PI-ALL-INNO Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills (implementing the “Blueprint”)

  • What the funding can be used for?
    • Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills aim to:
      • Create new strategic approaches and cooperation for concrete skills development solutions – both in the short and the medium term – in given economic sectors, or in areas implementing a major action of the European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience, the Pact for Skills.
      • Mobilise and incentivize all relevant stakeholders to take concrete actions for the upskilling and reskilling of the workforce, by pooling efforts and setting up partnerships, also at EU level addressing the needs of the labour market, supporting green and digital transitions as well as national, regional and local skills and growth strategies.
      • Tackle skills gaps on the labour market that hamper growth, innovation and competitiveness in specific sectors or areas
    • The following activities must be implemented:
      • Developing a strategic approach to sectoral cooperation on skills
      • Designing European sector-wide agreed ‘core’ curricula and training programmes
      • Delivering the ‘core’ curricula and training programmes
      • Designing a long term action plan for the progressive roll-out of project deliverables after the project has finished
  • Who can apply?
    • Who can participate?
      • Higher education institutions, VET providers, game developers, publishers, game research institutes, local/regional/national clusters, and trade associations(check page 279 of this document for the full list).
      • Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills (Blueprint) must cover at least 8 EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme and involve at least 12 full partners. The partnership must include at least 5 labour market actors (companies, or chambers, trade unions or trade associations) and at least 5 education and training providers as full partners. There should be at least one HE institution and one VET provider involved as full partner in each proposal.
    • Who can apply? Any full partner legally established in: 
      • EU Member States
      • Countries associated with the programme (Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, North Macedonia, Turkey and Serbia).
      • Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City State, Faroe Islands, Switzerland, Belarus and the UK can not participate.
      • Exception: organisations from Belarus Region 2) and the Russian Federation (Region 4) are not eligible to participate in this action
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions? 
    • The maximum EU grant per project is as follows: 4 million euros (4 years project) – only one proposal per industrial ecosystem can be selected for funding. Alliances have to choose for their proposal the single industrial ecosystem which their project will address. Check page 280-281 of this document for the full list of ecosystems
    • At equal quality, a proposal covering an ecosystem that is not at all covered by an ongoing Blueprint Alliance will be assessed as more relevant than a proposal covering a part of an ecosystem where a Blueprint is already ongoing. The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the specific Grant Agreement.
  • When?
    • Call opening: 29 November 2022
    • Deadline for submission: 03 May 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
  • For more information, please visit this link

 

5. InvestEU Equity

 

Under InvestEU Equity, the (European Investment Fund)EIF will provide equity investments and co-investments to, or alongside, funds in the areas of venture capital, private equity and private credit, that pursue generalist, specialized or mixed investment strategies.

Deadline for applications: 30 June 2027

 

Who is it for?

Private equity, Venture capital funds, fund-of-funds, cross-over funds, (co-)investment schemes, special purpose vehicles in any form that undertake long term risk capital investments, excluding entities targeting buy-out (or replacement capital) intended for asset stripping.

 

In order to be considered for InvestEU Equity selection, all Financial intermediaries(funds, private equity, etc..), including the managers thereof, shall:

  • represent that they are not in any of the Exclusion Situations(check table in point 6 of this document)
  • not be established in a Non-Compliant Jurisdiction(check table in point 6 of this document) unless the operation is physically implemented there.
  • Not be subject to Restrictive Measures:
    • As part of its due diligence process, EIF will analyze and exclude any applicant if it or any of its ultimate beneficial owners/key persons are subject to UN/EU/OFAC/UK restrictive measures (sanctions) in relation to Russia as well as the non-government controlled territories of Ukraine.

Financial Intermediaries shall:

  • be established (domiciled) in a Member State or in an OCT 
  • be managed by Independent Management Teams(check table in point 6 of this document), except in the following cases:
    • Where, due to the nature of the market, the domain investment expertise is concentrated within a few industry participants who act, or are otherwise linked with potential investors in a Financial Intermediary
    • In the scenario where a Financial Intermediary is investing in Technology Transfer. 

 

What can be financed?

 Investments supported by InvestEU Equity aim to:

  • Address market gaps and suboptimal investment situations in the EU policy priority areas,
  • Prioritise investments supporting the digital transition, climate action and environmental sustainability as well as investments increasing the European independence in strategic sectors
  • Contribute to post COVID recovery by diversifying the financing sources and strengthening the equity base of the European SMEs
  • Accelerating growth of European scale-ups accompanying and supporting them in accessing public markets
  • Increase the gender balance of the venture capital and private equity market operators and promote women entrepreneurship
  • Catalyse the emergence and consolidation of social enterprises and impact driven enterprises in their efforts to scale up and create a conducive environment for risk capital in the social impact investing space.

 

The most relevant Thematic Strategies, and their Target Areas, for EGDF members are:

Capital Markets Union

Promotes the development of capital markets and diversification of financing sources across Europe.

  • Growth and expansion funds:
      • Investments in growth or lower mid-market funds that provide equity and quasi equity financing, and support the continued growth of companies, including in order to finance increased production capacity, to finance market or product development, to provide additional working capital or to be used for a (total or partial) acquisition, in any case with a view to further grow the business.
  • Debt and hybrid equity-debt funds: 
    • The following typologies of funds fall within this Target Area:
      • Senior Private Credit Funds: credit funds, (i) investing, directly or indirectly, predominantly in the form of senior debt while also investing in non-distressed contractually subordinated debt or hybrid-debt equity and (ii) applying a portfolio diversification approach targeting 40 or more investments by the end of the (re-)investment period. See Annex V –Term Sheet for Senior Private Credit.
      • Selective Loan and Hybrid Debt-Equity Funds: funds providing onward lending in the form of non-distressed senior, subordinated, mezzanine or unitranche solutions, thereby widening the availability of non-bank financing to SMEs, and Small Mid-Caps. 

 

Digital and Cultural & Creative Sectors 

Investments that contribute to the strengthening of the EU’s competitiveness, digital independence and strategic autonomy, with a focus on data, communications technologies, services and products that facilitate the digital transition and address societal challenges:

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) Digital systems
  • Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (BT/DLT) Technologies
  • Cybersecurity Activities
  • Quantum Computing Technologies
  • Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS) Activities in the cultural and creative sectors, including the development and use of new technologies and tools for the management of intellectual property rights.
    • MediaInvest: audiovisual content production and distribution(for videogames industry, this includes also augmented / virtual reality experiences)
  • Education technology:
  • Other Digital 
    • cloud computing and data platforms

 

Conditions of Financing

The EIF investment under InvestEU Equity into a Financial Intermediary shall generally represent:

  • at least 7.5% of the total commitments to such Financial Intermediary raised in the closing at which the InvestEU Investment occurs
  • no more than 25% of the total commitments of the Financial Intermediary . In particular circumstances the EIF commitment may exceed 25%.

In deciding the level of commitment, EIF will consider, among other things, the following factors:

  • adherence of the Financial Intermediary to the Gender Criteria(section 6)
  • whether the investment strategy of the Financial Intermediary focuses on one or more EU member states classified as Moderate or Emerging Innovator Countries (“MEICs”):
  • focus of the investment strategy of the Financial Intermediary on the Target Areas,
  • the experience of the management team and the closing in which EIF participates,
  • whether the investment strategy of the Financial Intermediary targets Technology Transfer or whether the Financial Intermediary is managed by business angels or aims to systematically co-invest with business angels.

Size of a “like-risk-like-reward” InvestEU Investment: >EUR 100M. In practice, the minimum fund size is EUR 15-20M(unofficial information).

Duration of an InvestEU Investment: Typically ranges between 5 and 20 years.

Investor base of a Financial Intermediary: As a general rule, at least 30% of total commitments to a Financial Intermediary shall be made by Third-Party Benchmark Investors(check table in point 6 of this document) in the same risk class as the EIF, or by the EIF or EIB on their own risk and from their own resources, provided that Third-Party Benchmark Investors account for at least 15% of total commitments.

 

Minimum Investment Allocation Requirements

  • Financial Intermediaries shall commit to invest a minimum amount into Eligible Final Recipients. Only Primary Investments and Eligible Secondary Investments shall be eligible for the purpose of calculating the Minimum Eligible Allocation. The Minimum Eligible Allocation shall be equal to at least the higher of:
    • 50% of the Financial Intermediary’s aggregate invested amounts, and
    • 2 times the amount drawn down from EIF under the InvestEU Investment for investment purposes, capped at 80% of the Financial Intermediary’s aggregate invested amounts.
  • Financial Intermediaries shall indicate at the time of application, which Target Areas are captured by their investment strategy, and shall be required to commit a minimum amount into such Target Area(s) (the “Minimum Target Allocation”).

The Minimum Target Allocation shall be equal to at least 2 times the amount drawn down by the Financial Intermediary under the InvestEU Investment for the purpose of investments in Eligible Final Recipients under the relevant Thematic Strategy (or any Target Area part of it), capped at 80% of the Financial Intermediary’s aggregate invested amounts.

 

Final Recipients Eligibility Requirements:

  • are located or established and operating in a Member State or an OCT
  • are SMEs or Small Mid-Caps or Large Mid-Caps
  • are active in any of the Thematic Strategies (mentioned above). Large Mid-Caps are not considered Eligible Final Recipients for the Capital Markets Union Thematic Strategy.

 

Excluded Final Recipients:

Other requirements may apply: check point 5 of this document

 

The above-cited conditions apply generally to the InvestEu equity product, however, there are scenarios where conditions may be slightly altered:

  • Look here for more info on ESCALAR investment
  • Look here for more info on pre, peri, or post-IPO investment
  • Look here for more info on Senior Private Credit Fund Investment

 

For more information check:

Open Call for Expression of Interest

Term Sheet (Definitions)

 

6. Digital Europe

DIGITAL-EUROHPC-JU-2023-SME-01-01 – Stimulating the HPC innovation potential of SMEs

  • What the funding can be used for?

    • The funding is to stimulate the HPC(High-Performance Computing) innovation potential of SMEs through financial support to third parties via open calls with two topics:

      1. Uptake of HPC by SMEs to address specific business challenges
      2. Adoption of large scale HPC resources for developing generative AI models

    • At least 80% of the requested funds should go to financial support for third parties.

    • Supported activities should achieve enhanced competitiveness, innovation, productivity, and business opportunities for SMEs through uptake of HPC services.

  • Who can apply?

    • Public and private organisations (developers with expertise in HPC and AI from eligible countries:
      • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
      • listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Digital Europe
      • Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an
        association agreement and where the agreement enters into force
        before grant signature (list of participating countries)
    • Minimum 3 independent entities from 3 different eligible countries.
    • SMEs receiving financial support must be established in EU/associated countries.

  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?

    • Total budget is EUR 30 million.
    • Max funding per project is EUR 30 million.
    • Financial support to SME third parties is allowed up to EUR 150,000 (topic 1) or EUR 200,000 (topic 2).

  • Timetable and deadlines

    • Call opening: 05 September 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 07 November 2023 – 17:00 CET
    • Evaluation: November/December 2023
    • Information on evaluation results: December 2023
    • Grant Agreement signature: April 2024

  • For more information please visit: https://eurohpc-ju.europa.eu/system/files/2023-09/Call%20Document%20DIGITAL-EUROHPC-JU-2023-SME-01_1.pdf

 

DIGITAL-2023-CLOUD-DATA-AI-05-CULTHERITAGE – Data Space for Cultural Heritage

  • What the funding can be used for?

This call is intended to promote the development of a common European data space for cultural heritage. The primary aim is to aid the digital transformation of Europe’s cultural sector and enhance the creation and reuse of content in the cultural and creative domains.

    • Funding supports the digital transformation of the cultural heritage institutions by providing advanced 3D and XR content to the data space.
    • Projects should seize the advanced technological opportunities for enhancing the quality, sustainability, use, and reuse of 3D and extended reality (XR) data. Collaborations with relevant European, national, and regional initiatives and platforms are encouraged.
    • There’s a specific focus on building digital capacity within the cultural sector and connecting it with the data space.
  • Who can apply?

Cultural heritage organisations, 3D and XR technology providers, academic and
research partners, stakeholders in creative sectors, education, tourism, interested in
re-use of 3D and XR content.

To be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

    • Be legal entities, which can be either public or private bodies.
    • Be established in one of the eligible countries. This includes:
      • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)).
      • Listed EEA countries and countries associated with the Digital Europe Programme. This also extends to countries currently in negotiations for an association agreement, provided the agreement is enforced before the grant signature (referred to as ‘DEP associated countries’). A list of participating countries should be referred to for specifics.

Objectives and Scope of the Call

  • Objectives:
    • Increase the availability of 3D and XR content in the common European data space for cultural heritage.
    • Foster the digital transformation of cultural heritage institutions.
    • Encourage the reuse of such content in other sectors, like tourism and education.
  • Scope:
    • Selected projects should introduce at least one new 3D and XR scenario to the data space.
    • Address all the following aspects:
      • Setting or extending the frameworks and tools necessary for the availability of advanced 3D and XR data in the data space for cultural heritage.
      • Share know-how and best practices with the cultural heritage community.
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
    • Total topic budget: EUR 4,000,000 out of an estimated call budget of EUR 12,000,000.
    • The commission reserves the right to redistribute funds between call priorities based on received proposals and evaluation outcomes.
  • Timetable and deadlines
    • Call opening: 28 September 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 23 January 2024 – 17:00:00 CET (Brussels)
    • Evaluation: February – March 2024
    • Information on evaluation results: April 2024
    • Grant Agreement (GA) signature: September 2024

DIGITAL-2023-CLOUD-DATA-AI-05-DATATOURISM – Data Space for Tourism

  • What the funding can be used for?

This call is centered on the establishment of a secure and trusted common European data space for tourism. The selected project is expected to:

    • Build on outcomes of preparatory actions funded under the 2021-22 work program of Digital Europe Work Programme 2021-
      2022 (DIGITAL-2021-PREPACTS-DS-01-TOURISM).
    • Work closely with the Data Space Support Centre.
    • Leverage common building blocks for various data spaces.
    • Rely on existing data sharing initiatives in the tourism ecosystem and develop specific use cases.
    • Ensure strong connections with other related common European data spaces.
  • Who can apply?

Eligible entities as established by Article 18 of the Digital Europe program, including:

    • Public sector entities
    • Private sector organizations, especially SMEs
    • NGOs
    • International organizations

To be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

    • Be legal entities, which can be either public or private bodies.
    • Be established in one of the eligible countries. This includes:
      • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)).
      • Listed EEA countries and countries associated with the Digital Europe Programme. This also extends to countries currently in negotiations for an association agreement, provided the agreement is enforced before the grant signature (referred to as ‘DEP associated countries’). A list of participating countries should be referred to for specifics.
  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?
    • Total topic budget: EUR 8,000,000 out of an estimated call budget of EUR 12,000,000.
    • The commission reserves the right to redistribute funds between call priorities based on received proposals and evaluation outcomes.
  • Timetable and deadlines
    • Call opening: 28 September 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 23 January 2024 – 17:00:00 CET (Brussels)
    • Evaluation: February – March 2024
    • Information on evaluation results: April 2024
    • Grant Agreement (GA) signature: September 2024

7. Single Market Programme

SMP-COSME-2023-SEED – Proximity and social economy industrial ecosystem: boosting the digital transition of social economy enterprises and SMEs

  • What the funding can be used for?

    • The funding aims to boost the digital transition and capabilities of social economy SMEs and intermediary organisations through activities like capacity building, knowledge transfer, transnational cooperation.
    • Activities should focus on mapping digital needs, organising training, coaching, advisory services, business support, and providing financial support to participating SMEs and intermediaries.
    • Optional activities can support digital social innovation like adapting digital solutions for social challenges.

  • Who can apply?

    • Public or private organisations from EU member states or associated countries, with minimum 6 independent entities from 3 different elligible countries.
    • Must include at least 1 social economy ‘enabling organisation’ (These organisations can be established as business support organisation, incubator & accelerator, sectoral federation or association representing social economy entities, providing support services to social economy entities or federate social entities at local, regional or national level. )per country and 1-2 EU level support organisations representing social economy entities (such as sectorial member federations and associations or networks). .
    • SMEs receiving financial support must be in eligible countries.

  • How much funding is available and under what conditions?

    • Total budget is EUR 8 million. EUR 900 000 – 1 300 000 per project.

  • Timetable and deadlines

    • Call opening: 14 September 2023
    • Deadline for submission: 21 November 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
    • Evaluation: December 2023 – March 2024
    • Information on evaluation results: April 2024
    • Grant agreement signature: June 2024

  • For more information please visit: Call document