Eurostars-3 is a grant from the Eureka Network that funds international collaborative research and development projects led by innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Operating under the Horizon Europe / European Innovation Ecosystems programme, it supports market-oriented development of cutting-edge products, processes, or services across sectors including agriculture, energy, information and communication technologies, and more. Eligible applicants must form a consortium of at least two partner organizations from two different Eurostars member countries, with an innovative SME leading the project.

Swiss entities are eligible in 2025. The deadline for Cut-off 9 is September 4, 2025 (14:00 CEST). Funding amounts vary by country and national funding body.

EUREKA Eurostars-3 call open – tips for your application submission in 2025 EUREKA Eurostars-3 call 9 is open – novelties and tips for your application submission by 4 September 2025 22nd July 2025 at 12:45 pm The much-anticipated second call for Eurostars-3 in 2025 (cut-off 9) has been launched! Since earlier in July 2025, the EUREKA Project Management Platform has been officially open.

This is an opportunity for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to secure public funding for innovative projects for which applicants have two months to register and submit a grant application until the deadline on 4 September 2025 (14:00 PM CEST).

Eurostars-3 is an initiative created under the Horizon Europe / European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) programme as a European Partnership on Innovative SMEs with the cooperation of the Eureka Secretariat and 37 member countries. Within the programme’s scope, the call supports collaborative R&D projects with international partners. The goal is to develop market-oriented, cutting-edge products, processes, or services.

But going solo won’t work here – collaboration is key. To be eligible, your project consortium must include at least two partner organisations from two different Eurostars member countries, with an innovative SME leading the project. This blog post will guide you through the key features of this call, highlight any important changes from previous rounds and offer some practical tips to help you strengthen your application.

This second Eurostars-3 call for 2025 brings good news – Swiss entities can once again apply for funding! There are, however, some slight changes to the application questions in the online application form to keep in mind for those planning a resubmission of a previously submitted proposal.

Compared to last call, there are two additional boxes which need to be filled out, namely fixed and free keywords related to the proposed project in the ‘Application details’ section. Fixed keywords : These are selected from a predefined dropdown list within the Eurostars application. They categorise the project into a specific field, like “Agriculture & Food”, “Energy & Environment”, or “Information & Communication Technologies” .

Within each field, there are subcategories allowing for further refinement. You can add up to three keywords in total, with at least one keyword needing to be specified on at least three subcategory levels. Free keywords : These are chosen by the applicant to further describe the project.

They are not restricted to a predefined list and can be any relevant terms or phrases and are used to help further clarify the project’s focus and scope. You can add up to three free keywords, with at least one being minimally required. In essence, the fixed keywords provide a broad categorisation, while the free keywords offer a more specific and detailed description of the project.

Eligibility criteria and max word counts per question remain consistent. However, it’s important to note that there are also country-specific eligibility requirements and funding rates that the National Funding Bodies (NFB) define.

Therefore, it’s highly advisable to reach out to your NFB directly to confirm your project’s full eligibility, and you can also find a structured overview of these national requirements on the dedicated Eurostars webpage . Continuing the format of previous calls, applications will be structured around three key sections: “Impact,” “Excellence” and “Quality and Efficiency of Implementation”.

These sections will be evaluated by three independent reviewers using a set of pre-defined criteria and sub-criteria, all carrying equal weight: For a detailed description of what the remote external experts look for in your application, we recommend that you check out the document “ How we assess and rank applications ” and read the “ Guidelines for the external experts ”. Both are available for download on the Eurostars website .

Gearing up for your application: required documents and resubmission tips All applicants will need to submit a complete application through the EUREKA Project Management Platform , which includes a couple of mandatory legal documents which need to be signed.

Important note for the ones handing in a resubmission; as it is not possible to reopen a previous unsuccessful application, you will need to register a new proposal, meaning that all fields will need to be completed manually again. A new proposal registration results in a new project ID, which means that the mandatory documents listed below will also need to be updated and resubmitted.

Here’s the good news though: you can leverage the valuable feedback provided by reviewers in your previous submission to make the necessary improvements and strengthen your resubmission. Here is a list of the required documents to be signed and uploaded on the application platform. You can find the templates in EUREKA’s documents library .

The SME declaration is a reference document that provides information relating to the qualification of an enterprise as an SME and will be checked by your NFB. Please note that the SME declaration must be signed by an authorised legal representative of your organisation. 2.

Commitment and signature form This “Commitment and Signature Form” is a legal document required to be signed by an authorised legal representative of your organisation for Eurostars project applications. It ensures applicants are authorised to participate, have the resources, and haven’t received duplicate funding for the project.

All consortium members planning to participate need to upload this on the EUREKA Project Management Platform, irrespective of the organisation type. 3. Self-funding declaration form For applicants who do not seek or are ineligible for funding from their NFB but still wish to participate in a Eurostars project, a self-funding declaration needs to be completed and signed.

Make your proposal stand out! Next to the mandatory forms, two optional files to include in the appendix of your application: GANTT chart : This bar chart is a timeplan or project schedule that visually maps out the project’s tasks and, duration and potential dependencies between them during your project’s lifetime.

This helps project managers to track progress and identify any potential bottlenecks and helps reviewers to quickly grasp the project timeline. Technical Annex : This attachment is a complementary and separate document to the application form, which should be used to elaborate and provide additional details on aspects not yet fully addressed in one of the three main sections.

The technical annex should also be used to provide visual content (e.g. figures, tables and diagrams) that facilitates the general understanding of the project and its impact (please note that it should not be longer than 10 pages). It is well worth the additional effort to submit the complementary annexes mentioned above to further increase your chances of having a favourable outcome from the reviewers.

Here is thus the chance to make your proposal stand out from the rest! Support for Eurostars applicants by accelopment Are you planning on (re)submitting an Eurostars proposal but feeling unsure about your application’s strength? We offer expert proposal review services to help you submit a competitive application.

Thanks to our team’s extensive experience from previous successful applications, such as OPTO-BRAIN , MAXCOAT , NoCaTS , sus@pension , MiniLib , RETWood , FP-Catheter and AirToxMonitor , you can save time and increase your chances of success. Research & Innovation Manager