\
&
Contact us
\
&
Contact us
New year, new opportunities. The Horizon Europe 2026-2027 work programme was published in December and new calls have recently opened or will open soon. Under the Digital Europe programme, several calls are currently open (deadline March 2026) and a new wave of calls is expected in spring.Are you exploring your options or already developing a proposal? NCP Flanders provides a number of tools and services to support you along the way: Want to learn more about open and forthcoming funding opportunities? Have a look at our call topic overview. Building a consortium and looking for suitable partners? One of your options is to look at our partner search section. Also check our country eligibility tool, especially if you consider involving non-EU partners. Looking for support to prepare your proposal? Contact your institution's support office or have a look how NCP Flanders can support you. Find out more about all the services NCP Flanders provides here.
2026-01-13 Deployment: Best use of technologiesThe European Commission has published a new call: MCP on Innovative and Connected Public Administrations (DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-MCP-09-INNOV-ADMIN). The Multi-Country-Project (MCP) funded under this call is supposed to bring together Member States and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme, to jointly identify needs, deploy and develop interoperability solutions for cross-border digital public services. The overarching objective is to support activities for the implementation of the Interoperable Europe Act. The call will open on 20 January 2026, deadline to submit proposals is 19 May 2026. Detailed information on the call can be found in the call document. Background: MCPs are and new instrument: large-scale deployment and capacity-building projects fostering the digital transformation of the Union. These projects promote coordinated investments among the EU, Member States and private stakeholders enabling digital infrastructure projects that a Member State alone could not deploy on its own. They reinforce the Union’s technology excellence and industrial competitiveness in critical technologies, support an interconnected, interoperable and secure Digital Single Market and address strategic vulnerabilities and dependencies of the Union along the digital supply chain.
2026-01-09 Enhancing EU R&I Horizon EuropeIn October 2025 the European Commission (EC) has launched a public consultation questionnaire on the Have Your Say Portal, inviting all interested stakeholders to contribute to the future European Research Area (ERA) Act. More information is also available in the EC’s news alert. The questionnaire is an important part of the consultation process and follows the call for evidence which was open for five weeks, from 6 August till 10 September 2025 and received 178 contributions from 29 countries. The questionnaire is available via this link, clicking on the button ‘respond to the questionnaire’. The questionnaire was published first in English. Translations into the other 23 EU official languages followed shortly thereafter. The consultation remains open for 12 weeks from the date all language versions are available (early November 2025). The deadline to respond is 23 January 2026 (midnight Brussels time). To date 244 valid questionnaires have been received with the majority coming from the academic/research institutions (103; 42.21%). Italy leads with 81 submissions (33.20%), followed by Germany (23; 9.34%) and Spain (18; 7.38%). Belgium ranks fourth together with France (12; 4.92%). The aims and targeted respondents for the questionnaire (and previous call for evidence) are explained on the Have Your Say Portal. The received feedback together with additional studies will be used for the preparation of an impact assessment in which the EC’s internal services are consulted. In the Competitiveness Compass (factsheet and communication) that was presented by the EC in January 2025 the ERA Act is one of the Flagship Actions. The EC’s proposal for the ERA Act is expected to be adopted in Q3 2026 and will present to: let national commitments reach a 3% R&D investment target relative to GDP. reinforce alignment between the EU and member states’ funding priorities, particularly in strategic priority areas. create better conditions for researchers by improving research careers, geographical and intersectoral mobility, and open science measures. uphold fundamental values, including scientific freedom, ethics, integrity, gender equality, and equal opportunities across the ERA. History in brief of the development of the ERA The ERA was launched in 2000 and represents the EU’s ambition to create a single, borderless market for research, innovation and technology across the EU. In 2009 this objective became part of one of the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the EU, namely article 179 in the Treaty on the functioning of the EU. Around 2020-2021 the Council of the EU and the EC started a process to renew the ERA and adapt the governance. The Council Recommendation on the Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe was adopted, which describes 10 values and principles and four priority areas, and the ERA governance framework was expanded with the ERA Forum which includes representation from EU member states and associated countries as well as stakeholder organisations. The ERA Policy Agenda turns the four priority areas in the Pact for R&I to voluntary ERA actions and structural policies for member states, Horizon Europe associated countries, stakeholder organisations and the EC (2022-2024 and 2025-2027).
2026-01-09 Climate, Energy, MobilityThe European Commission (EC) launched a call for applications for the selection of members of the informal Commission Expert Group on European Union Research and Innovation for the automotive sector (EURIAS). That expert group is meant to advise the EC on the preparation of future policy initiatives and instruments related to R&I in the automotive sector and will be composed of 50 members from EU organisations linked to the European automotive sector. More information (such as the specific role of the expert group and application procedure) can be found here. Deadline for applications: 2 February 2026, 17h00.
2026-01-09 HealthThe Fast Track Programme of the European Partnership for Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed) offers support to start-ups and small teams and researchers at a pivotal stage of development, ensuring that promising personalised medicine (PM) innovations do not stall due to lack of validation resources and guidance. The Fast Track Programme offers targeted support to accelerate the validation and adoption of innovative PM solutions. The programme helps early-stage innovators progress by at least one Technology Readiness Level through dedicated validation studies carried out together with specialised European validation centres. More information, including the call text and details how to apply & evaluation process are available here. The deadline to submit your application is 10 March 2026. An information webinar on the Fast Track call will take place on 20 January and a final Q&A session on 3 March.
Sign up for personalised information!
We offer news and event updates, covering all domains and topics of Horizon Europe, Digital Europe & EDF (and occasionally, for ongoing projects, Horizon 2020).
Stay informed about what matters to you. By signing up, you can opt in for email notifications and get access to a personalised dashboard that groups all news updates and event announcements in your domain(s).
Only for stakeholders located in Flanders
The METHYLOMIC project, ‘targeting hope for personalised medicine in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases’ obtained funding from Horizon Europe’s Health Cluster. The project aims to personalise treatment allocation and enhance the effectiveness of medications for chronic immune-mediated diseases such as Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis. BIRD, the Belgian inflammatory bowel disease research and development group, is a partner in the project and is involved in the OmiCrohn trial, a prospective randomised clinical trial for individualised therapy in Crohn’s disease patients. With BIRD’s active role in this trial, the project is set to deliver predictive, biomarker-based therapies that bring renewed hope for Crohn’s disease patients across Europe.
