Call for proposals “Seal of Excellence under the Synergies program”
Call reference number: DIGIT.2.2.01
Funding source: DIGIT Project
Type of call: Permanently open – One stage submission
Status: Open for submission
Publication date: 30 December 2024
Start date for project application submission: 31 January 2025, 09:00
Deadline for project application submission: 31 December 2026, 16:00 or until all the available funds are allocated
Responsible authority: Ministry of Science, Education and Youth
Subject of this call:
The subject of the Call is to provide funding for high-quality projects that received the Seal of Excellence certificate under Horizon Europe calls, specifically for the European Research Council Proof of Concept (ERC PoC) Grant, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA PF) and European Innovation Council Pre-Accelerator – Widening (EIC Pre-Accelerator). This Call aims to bridge the funding gap for Croatian projects that met Horizon Europe’s evaluation standards but were unfunded due to budget constraints, thereby supporting R&D initiatives that advance digital, green, and innovation goals in Croatia.
Total grant funding available: €6,387,295.16
Eligible applicants for this call: The eligible applicant must be a legal entity registered in Croatia that served as the host organization for a project proposal which received the Seal of Excellence certificate by applying to either the MSCA PF or the ERC PoC Grant Calls for proposals, or a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) established in Croatia that submitted a project proposal under the EIC Pre-Accelerator call for proposals, for which it received the Seal of Excellence certificate.
Documentation of this call:
- Guidelines for Applicants – Call for proposals Seal of excellence
- Annex I. Conditions for the preparation and implementation of projects
- Annex II. Declaration by the Applicant
- Annex III. Indicative content of the baseline survey
- Annex IV. Environmental and social screening questionnaire
- State Aid Program
- First Revision of the State Aid Program
Announcement (May 20, 2025): First revision of the call documents
The following documents have been amended:
- Guidelines for Applicants – 1st revision
- Annex I. Conditions for the preparation and implementation of projects – 1st revision
- Annex IV. Environmental and social screening questionnaire – 1st revision
All changes in these documents are clearly marked:
- New or modified text is highlighted green,
- Text to be removed is shown in green and with strikethrough formatting.
The previous versions of these documents are no longer valid.
Announcement (August 20, 2025): Second revision of the call documents
The following documents have been amended:
- Guidelines for Applicants – 2nd revision
- Annex I. Conditions for the preparation and implementation of projects – 2nd revision
- Annex III. Indicative content of the baseline survey – 1st revision
All changes in the documents are clearly marked:
- New or modified text is highlighted green,
- Text to be removed is shown in green and with strikethrough formatting.
The previous versions of these documents are no longer valid.
Announcement (20 February 2026): Updates to Annex I.
The Annex I. has been updated in terms of exclusion list.
The changes are presented as follows: new or updated text is highlighted green, while text that is no longer valid is highlighted green with strikethrough formatting.
The following document has been amended:
Announcement (03 July 2026): Closure of the Call
Effective today the Call is closed due to the full utilization of the available allocation, and no additional submissions of project proposals will be accepted.
Announcement (31 August 2026): Revision of the Stated Aid Program
The State Aid Program has been revised.