Twinning & Excellence Hubs: Strengthening European Research

At the heart of this transformation are two flagship instruments – Twinning and Excellence Hubs, designed to build institutional excellence and connect regional innovation ecosystems across the continent.

With more than €3 billion — around 3.3% of the entire Horizon Europe budget — dedicated to Widening actions, the 2026–2027 cycle is the programme’s most ambitious phase to date, both in scale and opportunity. For Czech researchers and innovators, it marks a clear moment to move from participation to European leadership.

1. Twinning: Building Institutional Excellence

Twinning helps research organisations from widening countries strengthen their scientific capacity through collaboration with leading EU partners.

It focuses on training, knowledge exchange, and institutional development, preparing organisations to compete and coordinate at the highest European level.

Czech participation has been strong and steadily improving.

For example, in the 2023 Twinning call, Czech coordinators submitted 14 proposals: 1 project was funded, 11 passed the evaluation threshold but were not funded due to budget limits and only 2 fell below the threshold.

Work Programme overview:

• 2023–2024: €140 million total, ~120 projects expected
• 2025: no dedicated Twinning call (focus shifted to Excellence Initiative)
• 2026–2027: €258 million total, ~210 projects expected — the largest Twinning call ever

This near doubling of both budget and project volume marks a decisive opportunity for Czech coordinators who consistently achieve excellent evaluation scores. It also confirms the European Commission’s intent to strengthen widening countries as drivers of research excellence, not just participants.

2. Excellence Hubs: Connecting Regional Ecosystems

Excellence Hubs connect universities, research centres, companies, and public authorities into cross-border regional innovation ecosystems. They focus on joint research and innovation strategies, investment planning, and long-term collaboration roadmaps — connecting capacities rather than simply building them.

Work Programme comparison:

• 2022–2023: ~€70 million combined, ~24 projects funded
• 2024–2027: no dedicated Excellence hub call  
• 2026–2027: €100 million total, ~30 projects expected → +43 % funding, +25 % projects

The upcoming phase will emphasise Green and Digital transitions, ecosystem integration, and the removal of the Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) mechanism — streamlining management and focusing resources directly within the consortia.