Support for transnational activities of National Contact Points in the thematic area of Space (CSA)

Topic description

ExpectedOutcome:

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Improved and professionalised NCP services across Europe, in the respective thematic area, thereby supporting access to Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and raising the average quality of proposals submitted;
• A more consistent level of NCP support services across Europe;
• Facilitating participation of new players in projects in this thematic area;
• Matchmaking activities to link up potential participants from widening countries with emerging consortia in this thematic area. Matchmaking should use a variety of possible tools;
• Increased cooperation of NCPs with the Enterprise Europe Network.

Proposals should facilitate trans-national co-operation amongst National Contact Points (NCPs) in the respective thematic area, encouraging cross-border activities, sharing good practices and raising the general standard of support to programme applicants.

Proposers may wish to foresee specialised services covering the respective thematic area, drawing on the expertise of the predecessor network. At the same time, proposers must closely collaborate with the proposals in the two other thematic areas of the cluster,^[1] to ensure the cohesion of the services in the three thematic areas of Digital, Industry and Space, with a single entry point and common visual identity. Proposers should also share good practices across thematic areas; and enhance opportunities for collaboration across the cluster. A dedicated work package should be developed to ensure these synergies.

Given the importance of human-centric approaches in this cluster, the proposal should attract new types of player to the cluster, for instance social innovation players, makers and youth associations. Appropriate expertise from social sciences and humanities (SSH) should be included.

Special attention should be given to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including helping less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries. Where relevant, synergies should be sought with the Enterprise Europe Network to organise matchmaking activities in accordance with Annex IV of the NCP Minimum Standards and Guiding Principles.

The proposal should cover 36 months, with the possibility to renew to the whole duration of Horizon Europe.

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

Digital Agenda
Artificial Intelligence

[1]Topics HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-29,30