The Vice-Presidency of the Regional Government of the Azores, through the Regional Science and Technology Fund (FRCT), is participating in the pioneering European project ‘WiderAdvance Facility‘, which aims to narrow the innovation gap between less developed regions in Europe.

The WiderAdvance Facility is more than an innovation project: it is a strategic opportunity to enhance the visibility of regional results, strengthen local scientific competences and promote a more inclusive and sustainable research ecosystem in Europe.

This project, funded by Horizon Europe under the transversal sub-programme “Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence”, relies on the active participation of National Contact Points and local agencies to strengthen the dissemination from the participating regions, to maximize the ways to achieve the defined objectives and to ensure the sustainability of their actions, as well as to generate impactful contributions to the formulation of public policies at local, national and European level.

In this consortium, the Regional Science and Technology Fund ensures that the region has access to innovative tools, training and integration in European cooperation networks.

With access to these advanced tools and collaborative networks, the WiderAdvance Facility will strengthen the technical and scientific capabilities of the regional research and innovation ecosystem, leading to greater visibility and competitiveness of these Azorean entities on the European and international stage.

This action, which started in January 2025, brings together 17 partners from 14 countries – Poland, Italy, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Tunisia, France, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Armenia, Spain and the Outermost Regions such as the Azores, the Canary Islands and Reunion Island. It has a total budget of five million euros and a three-year action plan.

This project kick-off meeting took place in Warsaw on 29-31 January, bringing together the partners and the European Commission to launch the operational and technical work program.