Spreading excellence

Since its launch in 2016, the QuantERA Programme has provided a framework for long-term collaboration and coordination, supporting capacity building across the European Research Area and strengthening Europe’s competitiveness in quantum technologies.

In line with the objectives of Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, QuantERA places a strong emphasis on widening participation by actively engaging research systems from countries with lower levels of research excellence, as defined by the European Commission. These so-called Widening Countries are EU Member States and associated countries whose Composite Index of Research Excellence remains below 70% of the EU average, and whose increased participation in international research is a key policy objective.

At present, QuantERA brings together 16 RFOs from 14 Widening Countries: Croatia, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Türkiye.

QuantERA supports capacity building through the following key areas of action:

• Strengthening the engagement of Research Funding Organisations from Widening Countries in programme-level activities

• Embedding widening measures within joint call procedures, covering composition of evaluation panels

• Monitoring of funded projects, providing evidence on participation patterns, collaboration dynamics and longer-term capacity-building effects.

• Advocacy activities and participation in collaborative structures and initiatives.

The incentive to exploit the potential of a talent pool from less represented countries proved successful within the 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023 QuantERA Calls, where 77% of the funded projects involved research teams from the Widening Countries. Their role in funded consortia has increased steadily, with growing participation not only as project partners but also as coordinators.

Research consortia within QuantERA are embedded in an increasingly dense network of collaborations, in which Widening Countries play a growing and more visible role. While many of the strongest connections continue to link Widening and non-Widening research systems, new patterns of cooperation are also emerging between Widening Countries themselves. These widening–widening links, though still less frequent, signal the gradual development of regional cohesion.

The Report on capacity bulding activities for less performing countries within QuantERA, developed in 2025, provides a comprehensive analysis of how capacity building (the so-called widening dimension) has evolved into a systemic and embedded element of QuantERA’s Programme design, governance, and implementation. It draws on evidence from QuantERA I, QuantERA II, and the early phase of QuantERA III.