Widening participation and fostering R&I excellence
In recent years, the European Union (EU) has made significant strides toward fostering research and innovation across its member states. However, disparities still exist between countries with well-established research infrastructures and those striving to reach similar levels of excellence. Countries lacking sufficient R&I investments, capacity or centres of excellence are commonly referred to as Widening Countries (15 EU member states and 14 associated countries). To address this gap, the EU has launched various Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence initiatives under Horizon Europe, aiming to create a more inclusive, collaborative and balanced research environment, such as Teaming for Excellence, Twinning and Excellence hubs. These initiatives strengthen regional innovation ecosystems and encourage cross-border cooperation, ensuring that knowledge and resources flow more equitably across Europe. To increase the resilience of this ecosystem of initiatives, the European Research Executive Agency (REA) under the powers delegated by the European Commission has funded the widerAdvance Facility project, which just kicked off in Warsaw. By building an online training, networking and capacity building facility, widerAdvance Facility aims to elevate regional capabilities while contributing to the EU’s long-term vision of a cohesive, competitive, and innovative European Research Area.
Turning knowledge into impact
Against the backdrop of widening initiatives, the project aims to empower research teams in Widening countries and Outermost Regions to bridge gaps, sustain progress, and amplify their role in EU innovation through exploitation and dissemination of the results of research projects. By doing so, the project hopes to reduce disparity in innovation across Widening and Outermost European Regions by supporting and emphasising research outcomes while seamlessly aligning with the existing frameworks and tools laid out by the European Commission. More specifically, the project aims at supporting organisations who benefited from widening actions under Horizon initiatives, research teams and research management administrations in:
- Creating synergies with external stakeholders by aiding Research Teams and Research management teams in making compelling pitches using a language familiar to that of industry leaders.
- Capacity building and knowledge exchange by organising matchmaking events and study visits
- Supporting dissemination and exploitation of research outcomes to showcase innovative solutions.
- Supporting standardisation by providing 1:1 consultancy and training opportunities in alignment with EU objectives.
No need to reinvent the wheel
WiderAdvance Facility is a one-of-a-kind initiative, however, it is not reinventing the wheel. Instead, it brings together experts from 17 partners, building on their know-how and success in previous projects and initiatives. For instance, the Trust-IT team will bring to the table their knowledge in the provision of standardisation services, capitalising on their experience with the Horizon Standardisation Booster, a project coordinated by Trust-IT. Furthermore, we will be involved in dissemination activities, in line with the consolidated procedures of the Booster project.
What emerged in Warsaw, during the Kick-off meeting held at our coordinator’s headquarters (IPPT PAN) is that the project has a very ambitious goal and expectations are very high, however, consortium partners are the right experts to see this through all the way to 2028.
