Belgium

EUP OHAMR joint transnational call 2026: National rules and requirements for applicants from Belgium.

The information below of the national rules and requirements is only a summary. Please visit the national websites and contact the respective national contact person for full details.

Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS)

Eligibility rules and criteria

All eligibility rules and criteria can be found in the International Research Projects regulations (PINT-MULTI), see link below.

Please note:

• The F.R.S.- FNRS only funds basic research (low Technology Readiness Level) carried out in a research institution from the “Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles”.
• The F.R.S.- FNRS will not fund industrial partners or any activity related to the private sector. Nevertheless, partners funded by the F.R.S.- FNRS can be in a consortium where there are also partners from the private sector. 
• Clinical trials are not eligible for funding by the F.R.S.- FNRS.

Eligible costs

For overhead costs:

• Operating expenses: up to 1% within the granted budget. This percentage should be included in the requested operating budget.
• Personnel: up to 2% outside of the granted budget. This percentage will be paid upon reimbursement of expenses to institutions by the F.R.S.-FNRS.

Please check the Practical guide on costs (frs-fnrs.be) for any other questions.

Submission of the proposal at the national level

Applicants to F.R.S.- FNRS funding must provide basic administrative data by submitting an administrative application on e-space submission platform within 5 working days after the general deadline of the EUP OHAMR to be eligible.

Please select the “PINT-MULTI” funding instrument when creating the administrative application. Proposals invited to the second stage will be able to complete the pre-proposal form and provide information for the full proposal upon validation by the F.R.S.- FNRS.

Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek-Vlaanderen (FWO)

Eligible institutions

Academic. In this call, FWO deploys two of its regular funding channels: Fundamental Research Projects (FO) and Strategic Basic Research Projects (SBO). Researchers should choose the appropriate channel based on their project type, with eligibility details available in the regulations on the FWO website.

Eligible experimental approaches and disciplines

Fundamental and strategic basic research in all scientific disciplines are eligible. Projects aiming at the development of a spin-off company are not eligible.

Clinical research and innovative intervention studies (including medical devices, technologies and tools for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human and animal diseases) are eligible only if they address a fundamental scientific question.

Eligibility criteria for the Principal Investigator

In this call, the Principal Investigator (PI) can be a coordinator on one proposal or a partner on up to two proposals. Participating in this call does not affect FWO’s national project submission limits. The PI must have an appointment covering the full project duration. PIs who become emeritus during the application year or project period are ineligible, i.e. art. 10 §7 of the regulations FO does not apply.

Eligible costs

Different cost models and overhead calculations apply to each channel (FO vs. SBO). For overhead calculation, apply a structural rate to total costs: FO projects use 6% and SBO projects use 17%. For example, an SBO project costing 250,000 EUR amounts to 292,500 EUR with a 17% overhead, staying within the budget cap of 350,000 EUR. On FWO’s e-portal, enter only the actual cost; FWO will add the overhead. The project has a duration of 36 months and all allocated funds must be spent within this timeframe. There are no automatic extensions granted, nor may any unused funds be carried forward after the project’s end date, i.e. article 28 of the regulations FO and article 14 of the regulations SBO do not apply.

Submission of the proposal at the national level

Applicants for FWO funding must submit a mandatory administrative application through FWO’s e-portal. Select “Research projects – European programme fundamental research” for FO projects or “Research projects – European programme strategic basic research” for SBO projects. If multiple Flemish partners request FWO funding, include all relevant partner details in a single e-portal submission. The national submission deadline matches the joint transnational call’s preproposal stage. However, to confirm eligibility, it is recommended to consult the FWO administration at least one week prior. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in ineligibility.

Further guidance

To avoid any potential issues, we encourage you to contact the FWO administration in advance. We are pleased to assist you in ensuring the eligibility of your project proposal and consortium.

Service Public de Wallonie (SPW)

Eligible institutions

• Universities
• Higher education institution
• Research Centres
• Large companies
• SME’s

Eligible experimental approaches and disciplines

Applied Research. SPW can cover pre-clinical trials but not clinical trials.

Eligibility criteria for the Principal Investigator

The Walloon partners should include at least one company established in Wallonia. The research budget of the Walloon companies must account for at least 40% of the total research budget of all Walloon partners.

Eligible costs

The Walloon “guide des dépenses éligibles” is applicable.

Submission of the proposal at the national level

Walloon applicants must contact SPW at least 2 weeks before submission deadline. They must also submit a proposal on the regional submission platform: ONTIME.

Further guidance

• Applicants to SPW funding must submit their pre-proposal on the regional application platform ONTIME. Proposals invited to the second stage must also be submitted on the same platform. The submission deadlines are the same as the general deadline of the EUP OHAMR call.
• Applicants who want to submit a proposal are requested to contact SPW at least 2 weeks before the submission deadline.
• Participants must be companies, universities/higher education institutions, accredited or certified research centers, established in the Walloon Region and conduct R&D activities within the project.
• Walloon partners in the consortium must include at least one company, and the research budget of the Walloon partner companies must account for at least 40% of the total research budget of all Walloon partners.
• Participants must be based in Wallonia, and the Walloon companies must have an operational unit in Wallonia.
• Participants cannot receive any other public funding for the same activities.
• Participants must have fulfilled their obligations under any previous support granted by the Region.
• At the time of submission, companies must not be in difficulty according to the European Union guidelines.
• Projects must focus solely on civilian technologies, products, processes, and services.
• Participants must present an innovative R&D project that has a positive impact on the Walloon economy and aligns with the priority of the regional Smart Specialization Strategy (S3 Wallonia).
• Participants must demonstrate their ability to carry out the tasks assigned to them in the project, to exploit its results, and to have a positive socio-economic and sustainable development impact on Wallonia.
• The project cannot start at a TRL (Technology Readiness Level) lower than 3.