This EU Grant is Closed
The deadline for this grant was 4 August 2025 and applications are no longer being accepted.Grant ID: REINFORCING
5th REINFORCING Open Call (Incubators Call) on "Responsible Digitalization"
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for 5th REINFORCING Open Call (Incubators Call) on "Responsible Digitalization"💰 Funding Details
5th REINFORCING Open Call – Funding Overview
What the Grant Funds
- Purpose: Support experimental, first-time adoption of Open & Responsible Research and Innovation (ORRI) practices that foster “Responsible Digitalization”.
- Typical Activities Financed:
- Co-creation workshops, living-labs and stakeholder engagement sessions.
- Development of internal ORRI strategies, policies or charters.
- Piloting transparency, privacy-by-design or anti-misinformation tools.
- Training, capacity-building and peer-learning events.
- Production of a reusable ORRI Resource/Tool (handbook, dataset template, software module, KPI dashboard, etc.) to be uploaded on the REINFORCING platform.
- Travel, accommodation and subsistence for the mandatory Brussels training workshop and consortium meetings.
- Personnel, consumables, small equipment, subcontracting and communication costs that are essential for the 12-month project.
Financial Envelope & Rate
- Maximum grant per project: €60 000 (lump-sum/cascade funding, 100 % of eligible costs, no co-financing needed).
- Total call budget: €720 000 (up to 12 projects).
- Project duration: 12 consecutive months (fixed, extensions not possible).
- Payment schedule (indicative):
1. 40 % pre-financing after Grant Agreement.
2. 30 % upon successful mid-term review.
3. 30 % after approval of the final report & ORRI resource.
Eligibility Snapshot
- Consortium size: Minimum 2 independent legal entities from EU Member States or Horizon-Europe-Associated Countries.
- Coordinator: Organisation with little or no previous ORRI experience.
- All beneficiaries must be eligible for Horizon Europe funding and not subject to EU sanctions.
- Legal forms: Public bodies, universities, RTOs, SMEs, start-ups, NGOs, social enterprises, etc.
- Exclusion: Proposals longer/shorter than 12 months or single-beneficiary applications are ineligible.
Mandatory Commitments
- Deliver an ORRI resource/tool and license it for publication on the REINFORCING platform.
- Attend: Kick-off, monthly online calls, on-site Brussels training workshop, mid-term review, final event, dissemination webinar.
- Contribute to REINFORCING communication channels and peer-learning actions.
Key Dates
- Call Opens: 05 June 2025
- Deadline: 05 August 2025 – 17:00 (Brussels time)
- Project start (indicative): December 2025 / January 2026
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📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for the 5th REINFORCING Incubators Call
1. Alignment with Core EU Agendas
• Directly supports the European Commission’s twin Green & Digital Transitions, the European Data Strategy, and the Digital Decade targets (secure, sustainable, human-centric digitalisation).
• Embeds the Open & Responsible Research and Innovation (ORRI) approach, anticipated in Horizon Europe’s WIDERA work-programme and in recommendations of the European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda Action 14 (R&I values and ethics).
2. Strategic Use of Cascade Funding
• Provides EUR 720 000 in agile cascade (FSTP) grants, enabling SMEs, municipalities, NGOs and research bodies to access EU money without the heavy administrative load of a direct Horizon Europe GA.
• Cascade model allows rapid contracting (≈3–4 weeks) and up-front pre-financing, critical for smaller actors and widening countries with limited cash-flow.
3. Pan-European Collaboration & Critical Mass
• Facilitates cross-border consortia to pool complementary expertise in ethics, AI, cybersecurity, socio-economic sciences and humanities (SSH).
• Opens access to 26 000+ organisations in the Horizon Europe Participant Register, boosting the probability of high-quality partnerships and faster knowledge diffusion.
4. Test-beds Across Diverse Regulatory & Cultural Contexts
• EU-wide pilots let beneficiaries validate responsible digital solutions in multiple legal regimes (GDPR, AI Act, NIS 2, DSA), accelerating future market entry in all 27 Member States.
• Exposure to linguistic and cultural diversity sharpens anti-bias algorithms and misinformation counter-measures.
5. Synergies with Other EU Instruments
• Results can be up-scaled via:
– Digital Europe Programme (DEP) deployment projects.
– Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) digital corridors for secure infrastructure.
– EIC Pathfinder/Transition for deep-tech follow-up.
– ERDF/Just Transition Funds for regional roll-out.
• Alignment increases the chances of blended finance and follow-on investment from InvestEU, EIF, and EIT Communities (e.g., EIT Digital, EIT Culture & Creativity).
6. Leveraging EU Data & Knowledge Assets
• Free access to European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), OpenAIRE, RRI-Tools and existing JRC datasets significantly lowers R&D costs.
• Participation enhances compliance with FAIR data principles, mandatory for most future Horizon calls.
7. Competitive Edge Through Early Compliance & Standardisation
• Demonstrating conformity with upcoming EU AI Act + AI Liability Directive and adoption of CEN/CENELEC standards provides a first-mover advantage in public procurement and B2B markets.
• Contributes to shaping technical standards via links to StandICT and European AI Alliance working groups.
8. Addressing the Digital Divide in Widening Regions
• Call identifier (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-40) prioritises institutional change in less R&I-intensive regions, enabling applicants to:
– Access mentoring from more advanced EU partners.
– Build lasting governance structures (ethics boards, citizen juries, KPI dashboards).
9. Visibility, Credibility & Policy Influence
• Being showcased in the REINFORCING project’s pan-European dissemination channels (EU events, policy briefs, CORDIS) elevates brand reputation and can influence future EU legislation on responsible digitalisation.
10. Talent Attraction & Mobility
• Short 12-month projects allow rapid prototyping while benefiting from EURAXESS mobility services and Marie Skłodowska-Curie networks for secondments.
11. Contribution to ESG & Corporate Sustainability Reporting
• ORRI KPIs generated can feed directly into CSRD and ESRS disclosures, giving private-sector beneficiaries a measurable ESG edge when raising capital.
12. Long-Term Sustainability & Replicability
• EU-level methodological frameworks (RRI, citizen science, co-creation) are open-source, ensuring that pilots can be replicated by other regions and incorporated into Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3).
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Key Take-Away
Participating in the 5th REINFORCING Incubators Call offers organisations a unique chance to pilot, validate and institutionalise Responsible Digitalisation under real EU market conditions, with reduced administrative burden and strong political visibility—ultimately positioning them at the forefront of Europe’s human-centric digital transformation.
🏷️ Keywords
Ready to Apply?
Get a personalized assessment of your eligibility and application strategy
See in 5 min if you're eligible for 5th REINFORCING Open Call (Incubators Call) on "Responsible Digitalization"