\
&
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.
The Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day will take place on 1 August 2026 to raise awareness of Marine Protected Areas and their role in protecting the ocean. The global initiative follows a 2025 edition that included 103 events in 39 countries. MPAs are often described as the sea’s equivalent of national parks. By limiting damaging activities, they can help habitats recover, support marine biodiversity and improve the resilience of coastal communities. MPA Day began in 2021, led by South African organisations, and marks the protection of 20 new or expanded MPAs in South Africa on 1 August 2019. The initiative is now endorsed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. More information is available here.
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) published a new call for tenders on 10 June 2026 to support delivery of the EU Mission Ocean and Waters. The contract’s specific objective is to organise and manage the identification and selection process for at least 50 applicants from targeted communities that support the mission’s goals. The €3.98 million contract is designed to support the identification and engagement of communities including regions, cities, water management authorities and ports. The selected contractor is expected to provide tailored technical assistance and strategic guidance so that local plans and initiatives can be turned into concrete actions linked to the mission’s objectives. The tender is open until the submission deadline of 14 July 2026 and the contract duration is set at 30 months. They are looking for organisations with experience in stakeholder engagement, governance, environmental transition and capacity-building. Further details are available in the official tender notice.
EIT Food’s proof-of-concept co-financing instrument is designed to help agrifood startups move their ideas towards market-ready solutions by reducing the financial risk of early collaboration with corporate partners. Eligible proposals should involve a startup and a prospective corporate client, with total project costs of less than €60,000. EIT Food states that projects need to show a clear pathway to commercial success, and activities should be directly linked to the proposed proof-of-concept or pilot. Applications are assessed by expert panels after each cut-off date. The two deadlines are 31 July 2026 and 30 November 2026, with the latter being the final deadline for now. For more information, please consult the website of the call.
EIT Urban Mobility has opened the second Startup Pitch Competition under the EIT Higher Education Initiative (HEI) Community. Eligible startups created or supported by funded HEI projects can apply until 8 July 2026. Five finalists are due to be invited to an in-person pitch event in Q4 2026, where three winners are set to receive cash prizes and mentoring. The competition is open for startups created or supported through projects funded by the EIT Higher Education Initiative and officially reported by their project, covering Cohorts 1 to 3 and Cohort 4 Phase 1. Eligible applicants must be registered legal entities in an EU Member State or a third country associated with Horizon Europe, have at least a proof of concept, prototype or minimum viable product, and must not have been among the top three winners of the first startup pitch call. The competition has two stages. In Stage 1, startups submit an online application including a pitch deck. The top five ranked startups are due to be selected for Stage 2, an in-person pitch competition planned for Q4 2026 in a European city still to be confirmed. The three winning startups are set to receive lump-sum prizes of EUR 15,000, EUR 10,000 and EUR 5,000, with a total funding allocation of EUR 30,000. The three winners are also due to receive eight hours of individual mentoring each, while the two other finalists are set to receive three hours each. There will be an information session on 22 June 2026 from 12 pm to 1 pm and please consult all relevant documents regarding the call on this website.
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 Horizon Europe project DemoTrans: Interchange between Democratic Institutions and the Globalisation of the Economy investigates how European societies can sustain and enhance democratic governance in the era of globalisation, economic power concentration, and growing public concern regarding equity, fairness and accountability in the political sphere.
The project responded to call topic HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-02 and is coordinated by KU Leuven.
