Of the 1,905 applications submitted, the 179 highest-rated were selected for funding, resulting in a success rate of 9.4% at the application level. The number of projects initially expected to receive support from the European Commission (approximately 210) differs from the number actually funded because the average project budget was closer to the upper end of the recommended budget range (EUR 0.8–1.5 million).
Source: EC Funding & Tenders Portal, HORIZON-WIDERA-2026-02-WIDENING-01 Twinning
Latvia has nine Twinning participations selected for funding, representing seven coordinated projects, out of a total of 101 evaluated participations. With a success rate of 8.9%, this is close to the EU average and indicates that Latvian participants have made effective use of this call. Compared with its neighbouring countries, Estonia secured funding for 18 participations, while Lithuania secured funding for eight. Latvia’s results are similar to the regional average, confirming that scientific institutions in the Baltic States are successfully using the opportunities offered by the Twinning call to strengthen cooperation with partners in the European Research Area. The EU funding allocated to Latvia through the funded projects amounts to EUR 5.21 million, out of the total EUR 56.1 million requested by Latvian participants in the evaluated applications, representing 9.3% of the amount requested.
Information and Support Activities
We informed potential participants in the Twinning call and invited them to take part in the international information day “Twinning: General Conditions, Practical Information, Project Presentation” on 27 February, which covered in detail the call’s general conditions, objectives, requirements, consortium building, impact and budget, and featured presentations of four previously funded Twinning projects.
In addition, staff from the National Contact Point provided more than 100 individual consultations to applicants preparing Twinning project proposals and organised information events for major participants – the University of Latvia and Riga Technical University.
Co-writing Workshop and Individual Consultations
On 11 February, the NCP organised an in-person co-writing workshop and consultations for applicants to the Twinning call at the Monika Centrum Hotel in Riga. The event was intended both for applicants wishing to improve previously unsuccessful proposals and for those preparing new ones. It was led by Twinning experts from Estonia, with support from J. Asmuss, D. Aksjonova, L. Jirgensone, D. Sīle, E. Gulbe, J. Ancāns, L. Kairiša and Ļ. Tihomirova on behalf of the NCP.
As a follow-up to the co-writing workshop, additional individual online consultations were held via MS Teams from 9 to 13 March. During these consultations, the Estonian experts conducted preliminary reviews of the proposals and provided recommendations for improvement before submission.
Consultations by foreign experts for project coordinators within Project 1.1.1.5 (activity “Consulting Horizon Europe Project Coordinators”) – two support agreements were concluded to engage foreign experts in improving and conducting preliminary reviews of Twinning proposals before submission. The project “Advancing Pharmacogenomics for Precision Medicine in Latvia” (PGx4Latvia), submitted by the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre (BMC), received an excellent evaluation and was selected for funding. The other project also received a score above the quality threshold.
In both cases, the coordinators were provided with individual consultations by foreign experts to improve the quality of their proposals before submission to the Twinning call.
Pre-check Service
In addition, the Latvian Council of Science provided pre-checks for 12 Twinning project proposals within the framework of the NCP_WIDERA.NET project. Applicants – Latvian project coordinators – registered on the wideraexperts.eu platform. NCP staff selected the most suitable expert, who provided written comments and recommendations for improving the proposal, with up to 20 hours allocated for cooperation with the expert.
The service may be used once for each project proposal, and all costs are covered by the NCP_WIDERA.NET project.
Further information and registration:
- NCP_WIDERA.NET Pre-check Support for Applicants (Latvian Council of Science Website)
- Terms and Conditions (ncpwideranet.eu)
- Registration for Applicants (wideraexperts.eu)
Congratulations to the coordinators and participants of the funded projects!
