Create a thriving and competitive Virtual Worlds and Web 4.0 ecosystem (CSA) (Virtual Worlds Partnership)
Horizon Europe · Grant topic
Summary
Not an R&D call a Polish company can use, by Scindu's rule.
Funds coordination of the European Virtual Worlds Partnership, its research agenda and an inclusive ecosystem connecting industry, academia, public actors and users.
- Who can apply
- Companies can lead: SME, large company, research org, university, public body.
- Amount
- €3M per projectTotal budget €3,000,000
- Deadline
- 18 Mar 2027 01:00 CETin 145 days
- Status
- Forthcomingopens 17 Nov 2026
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source.
Description
Expected Outcome:
The co-programmed European Partnership for Virtual Worlds will help to develop and promote a thriving industrial and end-user ecosystem in the EU, covering all the aspects of the virtual worlds value chain. It will also actively engage with industrial and societal sectors to provide access to a broad range of resources, including funding, expertise and technology.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
• The delivery of a revised and updated Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for Virtual Worlds in Europe, for useful, open, interoperable, inclusive, sustainable and trustworthy virtual worlds systems and applications, ensuring these reflect EU values and principles.
• Strengthening of the European Virtual Worlds Partnership by providing continuous support.
• Reinforcement of the competitive ecosystem, with European companies playing a leading role in the adoption and acceptance, and in the development and deployment of Virtual Worlds technologies.
• Reinforced links among initiatives in virtual worlds in Horizon Europe, Digital Europe Programme, and other programmes at EU, national and regional levels.
• Widespread awareness and outreach programmes.
• Increased adoption of virtual worlds that are open, accessible and inclusive, interdisciplinary, safe and respect ethical values and European legal framework, including regarding privacy, security in all Member States and Associated Countries.
• Strengthening and promotion of standardisation methods for virtual worlds technologies and in support of the EU regulatory framework.
Scope:
The objective of the CSA is to further develop and reinforce the community by strengthening and supporting the Virtual Worlds Partnership and its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for Virtual Worlds (SRIA). The CSA will also lay the grounds for a strong and inclusive network bringing together academia, industry, public actors and end-users, including major industrial European sectors and all relevant stakeholders. The CSA will ensure close coordination at regional, national and European level.
The CSA will also strongly continue to promote the adoption of Virtual Worlds technologies and solutions in all Member States and Associated Countries, with particular emphasis on geographical aspect and across the value chain.
To this end, the CSA will develop and implement outreach programmes aiming at better understanding and raising awareness to create acceptance and trustworthiness of Virtual Worlds solutions.
The CSA will also support standardisation efforts to support the uptake of interoperable, open, trustworthy and ethical Virtual Worlds solution, by mobilising and bringing stakeholders together and, when needed, organising European representation in existing or new standardisation working groups in support of the Commission regulatory framework.
Proposals should involve and be driven by representatives of the relevant actors of the field (e.g., academia, RTOs, industry including SMEs).
The Commission considers that proposals with an overall duration of typically 36 months would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other durations.
Proposals should involve the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines and SSH experts, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.
This CSA should be prepared, managed and coordinated by key stakeholders in this field and directly support the Virtual Worlds Partnership.
This topic is implemented through the co-programmed European Partnership for Virtual Worlds and all proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the Partnership on Virtual Worlds and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA: HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-17.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Virtual Worlds.
Who can apply, in detail
- Applicant types
- SME, Large company, Research org, University, Public body
- Purpose
- Other
- R&D relevance
- 1 of 3
- Poland eligible
- Yes
- Country limit
- —
- Region
- Any
- Consortium
- Optional
- Readiness level (TRL)
- —
- Topics
- Virtual worlds
- Web 4.0
- Research and innovation agendas
- European innovation ecosystems
- Interoperability
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source. 23 Oct 2026
Conditions
Typed facts extracted from the source documents by Scindu's grant-data review. Each value keeps its own conditions. Unknown means unstated, not zero or unlimited.
- Eligible project scope
- The CSA supports the Virtual Worlds Partnership and SRIA and builds an inclusive network across academia, industry, public actors, end-users and relevant stakeholders with regional, national and European coordination.
- Other condition
- Horizon Europe General Annexes describe personnel as actual costs unless declared as a unit cost; they separately list SME-owner/natural-person personnel unit costs, subcontracting as actual costs, purchases as actual costs unless unit cost, and FSTP only if provided by the specific call. Therefore these personnel categories do not turn an external service purchase or subcontract into a hire, and no specific FSTP entitlement is asserted for this topic.
- Other condition
- For A.1 employees/equivalent, the HE MGA states annual personnel costs divided by 215 as the daily-rate basis; declared day-equivalents must be identifiable and verifiable. The total declared day-equivalents per person across EU grants in a year cannot exceed 215, minus parental leave time where applicable.
- Other condition
- Exact source identifies budget-based HORIZON-AG; General Annexes describe actual-cost grants. Eligibility/reimbursement terms depend on applicable MGA and grant agreement.
- Other condition
- The CSA develops outreach and awareness programmes and supports standardisation to promote interoperable, open, trustworthy and ethical Virtual Worlds solutions.
Amounts and costs
- Indicative budget
- €3,000,000
Topic budget as stated in the portal's budget table. Lump-sum and per-project limits are in the call conditions.
- Eligible cost
- Directly contracted natural persons (under a non-employment contract) and paid seconded persons may be personnel costs when assigned to the action and meeting general eligibility conditions; they must work under conditions similar to employees, results belong to the beneficiary unless agreed otherwise, and actual costs must not be significantly different from employees performing similar tasks.
- Eligible cost
- Employees/equivalent may be charged as personnel costs only if general eligibility conditions are met, the person works for the beneficiary under an employment contract or equivalent appointing act, is assigned to the action, and remuneration-linked amounts arise under national law or the employment terms; this category is based on costs actually incurred.
- Eligible cost
- The HE MGA allows nonsalaried SME owners and natural-person beneficiaries to claim personnel costs as unit costs under Annex 2a, subject to general eligibility conditions; the AGA gives a daily-rate formula of EUR 8,745.4 divided by 18 days, multiplied by the applicable country-specific correction coefficient for calls opened on or after 30 July 2024. This is a unit-cost calculation, not an employee salary cap or rate guaranteed for every country.
- Funding intensity, maximum
- 100
General maximum for exact HORIZON-RIA code; topic and GA control; not a staff pay rate.
- Expected project funding, up to
- €3,000,000
Approximate expected contribution per project, not an award floor/cap; the topic expressly permits different requested amounts.
- Expected project funding, from
- €3,000,000
Approximate expected contribution per project, not an award floor/cap; the topic expressly permits different requested amounts.
- Topic allocation
- €3,000,000
Indicative topic allocation, distinct from expected EU contribution per project and staff costs.
Personnel and services
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential fundable personnel category only when the grant conditions and Article 6.2.A.2 apply; assigned to the action, work under conditions similar to an employee, result belongs to beneficiary unless agreed otherwise, and actual direct-contract costs are not significantly different from comparable employees. It is a contractor engagement category, not employee payroll; no qualification, headcount, FTE, duration or rate is set by this topic.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential fundable personnel category under the applicable Horizon Europe General MGA, conditional on actual action assignment and all eligibility rules. This is not a call-specific required team, named job, or promise of award. Qualification, headcount, FTE, duration and salary are not stated by the topic. Employee remuneration must be actual and linked to national law/employment terms; daily-rate and reporting rules are described in the cited MGA.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential personnel unit-cost category where the applicable grant agreement includes Article 6.2.A.4. Applies only to an SME owner not receiving a salary or a natural-person beneficiary not receiving a salary, with work assigned to the action and general unit-cost conditions met. The daily unit rate is country-adjusted; it is not a salary and this packet does not assert a per-person EUR rate without the recipient country coefficient. No required headcount, FTE, duration or qualification is named in this topic.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential fundable personnel category only when the grant conditions and Article 6.2.A.3 apply; assigned to the action, works under conditions similar to an employee and actual costs are not significantly different from comparable beneficiary employees. This is a paid secondment, not a new employment contract with the beneficiary. No call-specific qualification, headcount, FTE, duration or pay rate is stated.
Source documents
Call facts
- Opens
- 17 Nov 2026
- Deadline model
- Single-stage
- Programme
- Horizon Europe · 2021 - 2027
- Call
- HORIZON-CL4-2027-04 · DIGITAL
- Types of action
- HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
- Keywords
- Coordination
- Ethics
- European Legal Framework
- Strategic research
- awareness
- competitive ecosystem
- deployment
- innovation
- interdisciplinary
- open
- outreach
- safe
- standardisation
- Source
- ec.europa.eu
- Checked
- 23 Oct 2026
- Portal updated
- 19 Oct 2026
- Review status
- Partial review
- Reviewed
- 23 Oct 2026
This is a summary of the source page, not the official text. Eligibility, conditions and the submission system are at the source.