HSbooster2 offers free, expert-led support to research and innovation projects at every stage of their standardisation journey — from writing a proposal to contributing directly to Technical Committees and Working Groups.
The services work as a connected system. Each one is designed to meet projects where they are, and to move them forward. A project that receives proposal support can return for mentoring once funded. A project in mentoring with strong standardisation potential is referred to the Standards Accelerator. Training runs alongside and reinforces all three. The result is end-to-end support that grows with your project rather than offering a one-size-fits-all intervention.
How does it work?
All services are delivered through a match-making model: applicant projects are paired with qualified experts from HSbooster II's pool, selected for their relevance to the project's field, maturity, and standardisation objectives. All support is free of charge and accessed through open calls.
Proposal Support
For research consortia at the proposal stage — whether applying to Horizon Europe, other EU programmes, or national funding schemes. An expert reviews your proposal and identifies where standardisation can strengthen both your case to funders and your long-term routes to impact. This includes pinpointing relevant Technical Committees and Working Groups, advising on how to frame standardisation objectives, and ensuring that the right resources and strategies are in place before funding is confirmed. Support is short-term and timed to fit your submission deadline. Projects that receive proposal support and go on to secure funding can return for mentoring once their project is underway.
Mentoring Support
For ongoing and recently closed R&I projects — EU-funded, nationally funded, or supported under programmes such as EUREKA or Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. A qualified expert, matched to your project's topic and standardisation context, works with your team for up to three months. Together you map the standardisation landscape relevant to your field, identify the right technical bodies and entry points, and develop a realistic strategy for engagement. The Mentoring Service is the main entry point to the HSBooster II ecosystem. Projects with strong standardisation potential identified through mentoring are referred to the Standards Accelerator Service for deeper, longer-term support.
Standards Accelerator
For projects with results ready to make a concrete contribution to standardisation. The Standards Accelerator provides up to six months of hands-on support from a specialist facilitator, moving projects from strategy to direct action. This includes drafting new work items or technical specifications, registering with Technical Committees, preparing for Working Group meetings, and developing the contributions needed to influence standardisation outcomes. Entry to this service is through the Mentoring Service. Projects are selected on the basis of their standardisation readiness and the strength of their results.
Training Academy
Most research teams are not short of expertise in their own field, but many lack a working knowledge of how standardisation operates: what a technical committee does, when results are mature enough to contribute, and who in the consortium should take the first step. The HSbooster2 Training Academy addresses this gap with free online courses, webinars and workshops, from first principles to advanced participation in technical committees, covering domains such as ICT and security, health, energy, environment and quality management.
Training is built into the HSbooster2 services themselves: applicants to Proposal Support receive targeted materials before their review, mentored projects have access to monthly online sessions, and participants in the Standards Accelerator join advanced workshops on contributing directly to technical committees.
EU-funded and nationally funded projects are welcome to use the Academy at any stage, with further information available at the Training Academy Section.
Recognition System
A researcher who publishes a paper or files a patent receives credit that is visible to institutions, funders and future employers, whereas most standards do not acknowledge their authors, so months of committee work can leave no trace in a CV or a project evaluation. This lack of recognition is one of the reasons why researchers hesitate to engage with standardisation, even when their results are relevant. HSbooster2 is working on this barrier by mapping how contributions to standardisation are acknowledged in different countries, including models in which authorship or contributor acknowledgement already exists, and by consulting the relevant working groups of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). Building on this analysis, and drawing on existing mechanisms such as the CEN/CENELEC Standards+Innovation Awards, the project will develop and pilot a recognition scheme that treats contributions to standardisation as a legitimate research output, supported by an analysis of the scientific references cited in standards. The scheme is to be validated with stakeholders and presented to policy makers, research organisations and standards development organisations for possible uptake, so that the effort a project invests in standardisation can be reflected in how its results are assessed.