Everything you need to decide whether to apply — and how to win.
Verify these facts: Topic page on F&T Portal
Source documents: General Annexes 2026-2027 (Commission Decision C(2025) 8493), WP Part 7 — Digital, Industry and Space
If any fact above doesn't match the Portal, this brief may be outdated. Check the F&T Portal directly.
Source: "Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in both Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) and Innovation Actions (IAs) falling under this destination." — Destination conditions. CSA is not named.
(Topic text, Expected Outcomes section):
What the EC actually wants — decoded from the topic text.
Source: "This action aims to leverage the strengths of social sciences, humanities and arts (SSH) to address companies' specific needs, fostering a dynamic and productive industry-academia co-creation for knowledge valorisation." — Topic scope
Source: "The action will cover the following activities: [...]" — Topic scope, activities list
Source: "This action will implement SSH–industry co-creation (for example hackathons, team-based approaches, targeted mentorship and exchange programmes etc) focussing on specific challenges from industry and SMEs [...]" — Topic scope
Source: "[...] including, but not limited to understanding the socio-technical implications of new technologies and innovations, broadening the perspectives of companies' strategic actions, creating a deeper understanding of customer needs, legal requirements and pathways to the market, strengthening the integration of social, economic and cultural inequality considerations into industry practices and innovation processes, developing new ideas and innovations and contributing to organisational development, sustainability and long-term profitability." — Topic scope
Based on: The scope names "industry and SMEs including spinoffs and startups" (mandatory activity 2) and covers a very broad range of challenge areas. There is no sector restriction — the topic does not limit to manufacturing, digital, or any specific industry. The destination is about raw materials and advanced materials, but this specific CSA topic is a cross-cutting SSH intervention.
The absence of sector restriction suggests proposals could work across multiple industries. However, anchoring to at least some of the destination's core themes (materials, chemicals, industrial transformation) would strengthen relevance scoring under Excellence.
This is a strategic interpretation. Assess whether it applies to your specific project.
What kills your proposal before evaluation.
| Status | Gate | Rule | Your Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🔴 CRITICAL | Lump sum budget table | Mandatory Excel budget table with lump sum breakdown (HORIZON Lump Sum Grant) | Download the "Detailed budget table (HE LS)" from the submission system. If purchase costs >15% of personnel costs for any participant, justify in the "Any comments" sheet. |
| 🔴 CRITICAL | Page limit | 28 pages for Part B (CSA + lump sum, General Annexes Annex A) | 12 fewer pages than a standard RIA. Plan content carefully — every page counts. |
| 🔴 CRITICAL | Consortium minimum | Min. 1 legal entity from an EU MS or Associated Country (General Annex B, CSA) | CSA minimum is lower than RIA/IA. But a single-entity proposal for this topic would be weak — the scope requires "international teams." |
| 🟡 IMPORTANT | Lump sum cost justification | Topic update (16 Feb 2026): if purchase costs (travel + equipment + other) exceed 15% of personnel costs per participant, justify in "Any comments" sheet | This was a February 2026 update. Many applicants may miss it. Read the Topic Updates section on the Portal. |
| 🟡 IMPORTANT | PIC registration | All participants must be registered in the Participant Register (General Annex B) | Start early for new partners — especially SSH academics new to Horizon Europe |
| 🟢 NOTE | China eligibility | Chinese entities ARE eligible for this CSA — the destination exclusion applies to RIA and IA only | If you have Chinese SSH partners, they can participate |
| 🟢 NOTE | Gender Equality Plan | Required for public bodies, HEIs, and research organisations (General Annex B) | Confirm GEP status for all academic partners |
| 🟢 NOTE | Evaluation thresholds | Standard: 3/3/3, cumulative 10 (General Annex D) | No topic-specific override. Standard thresholds apply. |
Source: "we simplified the proposal template, removing this information from Part B and bringing it closer to the relevant budget items. Specifically, you must include justification in the 'Any comments' sheet [...]" — Topic updates, 16 February 2026
How to score well on each criterion — for this specific CSA topic.
CSA sub-criteria from General Annex D: clarity and pertinence of objectives; soundness of proposed methodology.
Source: EO1–EO3 require industry innovation capability + market strategies + SSH researcher development. Methodology must implement "SSH–industry co-creation" with named formats. — Topic scope
Source: EO1 targets "companies' research and innovation challenges." EO2 requires "strategies to bring new products and technologies to the industry environment and ultimately to the market." — Topic expected outcomes
Based on: The €2M total budget and the scope requiring methodology development, a service to industry, and a feasibility study.
With €2M, we expect 1-2 projects to be funded. The scope is focused enough for a single project to address all three activities comprehensively. This means the competition is for a small number of grants — quality of the consortium and credibility of industry access will be decisive. A consortium led by an SSH institution with a strong industry network (through a science park, innovation hub, or industry association partner) would be well-positioned.
This is a strategic interpretation based on budget arithmetic and scope analysis. Assess whether it matches your consortium's profile.
Who you need — and the minimum is lower than you think.
Source: "Social Sciences and Humanities, including the Arts" — Topic expected outcomes
Source: "Service to industry and SMEs including spinoffs and startups" — Topic scope, mandatory activity 2
Source: Mandatory activities require methodology development + feasibility study — requires coordination expertise
| Entity / Country | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| China | ELIGIBLE ✓ | Destination exclusion names RIA and IA only — CSA not restricted |
| Russia / Belarus | EXCLUDED | Standing EU Council sanctions — all instruments |
| UK, Switzerland, Associated Countries | ELIGIBLE | General Annex B — standard association rules |
How to frame your idea for this specific topic.
This topic sits under Destination "Achieving technological leadership for Europe's open strategic autonomy in raw materials, chemicals and innovative materials" in Cluster 4 — Digital, Industry and Space. The destination is heavily focused on industrial transformation, advanced materials, and critical raw materials.
This CSA is unusual within the destination — it's a soft, SSH-focused topic in a hard-tech environment. That creates both a positioning opportunity and a trap.
Source: Destination description references "Competitiveness Compass," "Clean Industrial Deal," and "twin green and digital transition" as drivers. — Destination text
Source: "A study to tackle the key questions concerning the technical and conceptual feasibility of Industry-Academia knowledge exchange with SSH to improve innovation management and organisational development." — Topic scope, mandatory activity 3
Source: "harnessing the potential of Social Sciences and Humanities, including the Arts" — Topic expected outcome 1
| Priority | Referenced? | How to Address |
|---|---|---|
| SSH integration | CORE TOPIC | This IS the SSH topic. Your entire proposal is SSH integration. |
| SME/startup participation | YES — explicit | "Industry and SMEs including spinoffs and startups" — mandatory activity 2. Include SME service delivery in your work plan. |
| Knowledge valorisation | YES — explicit | "Industry-academia co-creation for knowledge valorisation" — this is the topic's stated mechanism. |
| Inequality/inclusion | YES — in scope list | "Strengthening the integration of social, economic and cultural inequality considerations into industry practices" — named as a challenge area. |
| Sustainability | YES — in scope list | "Contributing to organisational development, sustainability and long-term profitability" — named as a challenge area. |
| Open Science / FAIR data | NOT EXPLICIT | Not mentioned in topic text. Standard HE requirements apply — include DMP commitment but don't over-invest here. |
Source: EO1 requires "effective solutions to companies' research and innovation challenges" — not academic publications about industry. — Topic expected outcomes
Source: "The action will cover the following activities: [...]" — Topic scope. Directive language, not optional.
Your action plan — work backwards from 21 April 2026.