The European Commission is investing around €8 million in 41 new projects under the ERA Fellowships scheme. They will support postdoctoral researchers from across the world to relocate and work in one of the Widening countries.
As a well-established funding opportunity, part of the “Widening participation and spreading excellence” component of Horizon Europe, ERA Fellowships pursue a double objective:
- Support excellent researchers by strengthening their transferable skills, international networks and career prospects through an international interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility experience
- Support the hosting organisations in Widening countries to better align their researchers’ working conditions with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers
The 2025 call for proposals ran between April and September 2025 and received 1419 eligible proposals. The 41 selected projects have signed a grant agreement and are set to begin in the next months. Meanwhile, the 2026 call for proposals closed on 9 September and is currently under evaluation.
Almost half of the selected institutions are from Czechia and Portugal, followed by organisations in Slovenia and Poland. The EU outermost regions are also well represented with Guadeloupe, Canary Islands, and Azores each with one institution financed.
The funded projects cover a wide range of topics: from energy, climate and electric vehicles to migration, culture, logic, art and cosmology. Discover the projects’ overview and learn more about the topics, the EU funding and participating countries.
Upcoming Widening funding opportunities
In line with the policy objectives of the European Research Area (ERA), the “Widening participation and spreading excellence” part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme funds projects that help strengthen research and innovation capacity in countries with lower research and innovation performance.
The next widening funding opportunities are:
- Excellence Hubs call – opening 2 September 2026 (Deadline to apply: 4 March 2027)
- ERA Chairs and Research Managers call – opening 6 April 2027 (Deadline to apply: 14 September 2027)
- ERA Fellowships 2027 call – opening 7 April 2027 (Deadline to apply: 8 September 2027)
To learn more about the calls and how to apply, watch the Info Day recordings.
Additionally, if your project is from a Widening country and you are interested in turning your scientific results into sustainable products and solutions for the public, you can apply for dissemination and exploitation services with the widerAdvance Facility. The Open call was launched in May 2025 and will remain open until 30 June 2028, with several cut-off dates.
More information