Data Corner: Widening countries get a funding boost in Horizon Europe

24 Sep 2024 | News

The latest data shows lower-performers have increased their share of funding from 9% in Horizon 2020, to 13% in Horizon Europe

Photo credits: European Union

The Widening programme set up to help lagging member states catch up with the EU’s innovation leaders seems to be bearing fruit, with lower performing countries increasing their share of grants from 9% in Horizon 2020 to 13% in the first half of Horizon Europe, according to a Science|Business analysis of the latest EU funding data.

We examined the data for the main instrument of the programme, the Widening participation and spreading excellence (WIDERA) calls.

Apart from networks that are part of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), the individual institution that has brought in the most Widening money is the University of Tartu, with €26 million in funding already approved. Meanwhile, in the lead in coordination…