The European Commission has published an UPDATED Work Programme 2024!
Check out the new funding opportunities for Cluster 1 Health and the Cancer Mission

Cluster Health
Cancer Mission

Contribute to the development of the Horizon Europe work programme 2025 by filling in one or more surveys.

Responses submitted through the survey will contribute to the co-design of the work programme 2025, covering all 6 clusters, research infrastructures, European innovation ecosystems, the 5 EU Missions and the New European Bauhaus facility.

The feedback opportunity is open for 3 weeks from 15 April and closes on 6 May 2024 midday, CET.

Feedback opportunity for Horizon Europe work programme 2025

On March 20, 2024, the European Commission published the second Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe. Based on the strategic plan, the work programs and funding calls for 2025 to 2027 will be developed.
The plan sets out three key strategic orientations for EU research and innovation funding for the last three years of Horizon Europe:

• green transition;
• digital transition;
• a more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe.

The orientations aim to address global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, digital transformation and an aging population.
Nine new European partnerships will be named, which will be set up from 2025. A partnership with “Brain Health” is planned for the health sector.
In addition, the priorities for each cluster - including the health cluster - are described in a separate chapter.

European Commission website

The European Commission is hosting virtual “EU Missions Info Days” on April 25-26, 2024.
In these, potential applicants are informed about the new calls for proposals within the five European missions: cancer, climate adaptation, water, cities and soils.
The Cancer Mission will be presented on April 26, 2023 from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. (CET). A registration is not required. Further information can be found on the event website.
Following the Info Days, a virtual brokerage event for the Cancer Mission's calls for proposals will take place to support potential applicants in finding project partners.

EU Missions info days

The European Commission has published the report of the expert group to support the monitoring of European missions. The group developed a conceptual understanding of missions as a policy approach in the context of European research and innovation policy and in the report proposes a monitoring framework and indicators focused on development and implementation "beyond Horizon Europe".

Final report of Commission Expert Group to support the monitoring of EU missions

A widely used template for consortium agreements, DESCA (“Development of a Simplified Consortium Agreement”) has now been updated and adapted to the requirements of Lump-Sum projects in Horizon Europe.

DESCA website

The European Partnership for Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed) held its first general assembly meeting on 23 and 24 January 2024 in Brussels with more than 50 partner organisations from 24 countries and 10 European regions. EP PerMed partners and representatives from the European Commission and the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) gathered to discuss the current and upcoming work plans of EP PerMed as well as financial and administrative aspects of the partnership.

Please find more information and impressions about the Kick-off Meeting here.

The first EP PerMed call on "Identification or Validation of Targets for Personalised Medicine Approaches (PMTargets)" is already open for submission of research proposals. Please find more information about the call here.

Iliana Ivanova (Bulgarian) has been appointed as the new EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. She replaces Mariya Gabriel and was previously Member of the European Parliament and at the European Court of Auditors. She will serve until the end of the current Commission's term, October 31, 2024.
More information can be found in the European Parliament press release.

The European Commission and the UK Government have concluded negotiations and reached an agreement in principle on the association of the UK to Horizon Europe and Copernicus under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

UK researchers will be able to fully participate in the Horizon Europe programme on the same terms as researchers from other associated countries, including leading consortia, from the 2024 Work Programmes and onwards – including any 2024 calls opening this year.

For calls from the 2023 Work Programmes, the European Commission will continue to administer transitional arrangements and the UK will continue to provide funding under the UK Guarantee. UK and EU scientists and researchers can have confidence in continuing long-term partnerships with their counterparts.

For more details please have a look at the website of the European Commission and at the UK Research and Innovation Website.

The European Commission has published an updated Guide on "Complementary funding mechanisms in third countries and territories". A partner from a non-eligible country (third countries and territories) can participate as an "Associated Partner" in Horizon Europe projects, but usually does not receive any EU funding and has to cover the costs elsewhere. Various countries have national funding for this, which is presented in the updated guide.
See the full guide on the European Commission's website

The European Commission has published ten candidates for new European partnerships that could start in the second half of Horizon Europe. The list of proposals will be discussed with the member states and associated states in the coming months and adjusted if necessary. The final portfolio of European partnerships will be included in the Strategic Plan 2025-2027, to be published in 2024.
The following partnerships are available for consultation:

1. Brain Health
2. Forests and forestry for a sustainable future
3. Innovative materials for the EU
4. On-orbit demonstration and validation
5. Raw materials for the green and digital transition
6. Resilient cultural heritage
7. Social Transformations and Resilience
8. Solar Photovoltaic
9. Textiles of the future
10. Virtual Worlds

More information can be found on the European Commission's website

The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) has pre-published the drafts for calls 4 and 5. Six topics are currently planned for the two-stage Call 4 and four topics for the one-stage Call 5, which will be finalized and published in the coming weeks.
The topics are currently being consulted with the States' Representatives Group and the Science and Innovation Panel. They can therefore change significantly between the versions now published and the publication of the call. Applicants should therefore check the final, approved topic texts after publication of the call for proposals. Release is expected on July 27, 2023.

More information and the draft calls for calls 4 and 5 can be found on the IHI website.

For the two calls, the IHI organizes the virtual "IHI Call Days" where the participation rules and the topics are presented. In addition, there are pitching sessions for the IHI Call Day 5, where participants can present their expertise. Places are limited and registration is only possible until June 15, 2023.

• IHI Call Day 4: June 19-22, 2023
• IHI Call Day 5: June 26-29, 2023

The future One Health Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) partnership has published the draft of its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA).
The SRIA will lead the activities of the One Health AMR Partnership, which coordinates and promotes AMR research and innovation as part of an interdisciplinary One Health approach. The partnership aims to contribute advanced knowledge, innovative solutions and policies to reduce the burden of AMR. It is expected to start in 2025.

More information and the draft SRIA can be found on the JPI AMR website.
JPI (Joint Programming Initiative) AMR is the current partnership with AMR and will be replaced by the new partnership "One Health AMR".

The brokerage platform created for the brokerage event on June 02, 2023 remains open for partner search and bilateral meetings until September 03, 2023. The brokerage platform is intended to facilitate contacts between stakeholders interested in the tenders in the health cluster for 2024 and to promote joint cooperation for the formation of a consortium.
Visit the Brokerage website for more information and to register and schedule bilateral meetings.

The EU Commission conducted a large public consultation on the past, present and future of European Framework Programs for Research and Innovation for the years 2014 - 2027. In total, more than 2000 responses were received.
A first summary has now been published in the Synopsis Report, which contains the results of the consultation section on the Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe (2025 - 2027). The following topics were considered for the first summary:

• Identification of priorities and societal challenges for the future,
• Expected impacts of the six clusters,
• Synergies and complements,
• EU Missions and European Partnerships.

In addition, 108 position papers were taken into account for the evaluation, 40 of which were written by universities or research institutions.
The synopsis report can be found on the European Commission's website.

Take a look at the Synopsis Report

The EU Commission has updated the Template "Information on Clinical Studies" in order to include complex trials and a reference to the mandatory use of the Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS).
The new version will be used in the submission system of forthcoming topics and is currently published on the F&T portal: 
Template on "INFORMATION ON CLINICAL STUDIES"

A frequently asked question about the mandatory use of CTIS has been published on the F&T Portal: FAQ on CTI

HNN 3.0 will soon provide further support material on this subject.

The EU Commission has published the submission figures for the calls in the Horizon Europe Cluster Health with a submission deadline on April 13, 2023, and in the Cancer Mission with a submission deadline on April 12, 2023,.

The EU Commission will probably inform the applicants about the results of the assessment on August 4, 2023, at the earliest.

You can find the numbers for submitted applications under the individual call for proposals, in the “Topic updates” section (Health Cluster) or in the “Call updates” section (Cancer Mission) on the Funding and Tenders Portal.

Funding and Tenders Portal

The Horizon Europe-funded project Procure4Health has opened a Call for Twinning applications with 660.000 € to support Twinnings activities in Health & Social care in order to share knowledge, build capacities of procurers, define common needs and advance innovation procurement in the EU.
Deadline to apply is 31 May 2023.

Procure4Health Call

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Health has published a "Call for Experts". Experts with extensive experience in health innovation, entrepreneurship, business, health data and technologies and other fields are sought. The following tasks can be taken over for compensation:

• Analysis of applications,
• Preparation of reports on applications,
• advice and exchange,
• Assessment of the quality of applications.

EIT Health website

The "Blind Evaluation" is a pilot for the anonymous appraisal of short applications (stage 1) in the two-stage application process. Part B of the short application must not contain any information that give information on the identity of the applicant. Otherwise the application is considered inadmissible.
This anonymous application assessment is used in all two-stage application procedures in the 2023/2024 calls for proposals in Clusters 1 Health. Since only single-stage tenders are planned for 2023 in the health cluster, this applies to all two-stage tenders for 2024.
The EU Commission has now updated the application form for the short application and added information on "blind evaluation". The updated application form can be found on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

The UK is currently still in negotiations with the EU for association with Horizon Europe. Institutions from the UK can therefore currently participate in Horizon Europe applications, but will not receive any EU funding, if the UK has not been associated by the time the grant agreement is signed.
The UK government has extended the funding guarantee from national funds. The guarantee commitment covers all calls in Horizon Europe with a submission deadline before or on June 30, 2023. The Cluster Health calls have a deadline in April and are therefore covered by the funding guarantee.

Website UK Research Office

Various Indian ministries, including the Ministry of Biotechnology, have provided co-financing for Indian institutions for a total of eleven call topics of the Horizon Europe program. The following three calls originate from the health cluster:

1. HORIZON-HLTH-2023-DISEASE-03-04: Pandemic preparedness and response: Broad spectrum anti-viral therapeutics for infectious diseases with epidemic potential
2. HORIZON-HLTH-2024-DISEASE-03-13-two-stage: Validation of fluid-derived biomarkers for the prediction and prevention of brain disorders
3. HORIZON-HLTH2024-DISEASE-08-20: Pandemic preparedness and response: Host-pathogen interactions of infectious diseases with epidemic potential

Background: Indian institutions can participate in all Horizon Europe calls, but usually do not receive any EU funding.

More information can be found on the EURAXESS website.

On 3 February 2023, EMA, the Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) and the European Commission (EC) have launched a public consultation on the establishment of a multi-stakeholder platform to improve clinical trials in the European Union (EU). The multi-stakeholder platform is a deliverable of the joint initiative Accelerating Clinical Trials in the EU (ACT EU).

Public consultation on a multi-stakeholder platform to improve clinical trials in the EU

The call topic ‘Tackling high-burden for patients, under-researched medical conditions’ (HLTH-2024-DISEASE-03-14) of the Work Programme 2023-2024 of Cluster 1 makes reference to an independent scoping study that the European Commission commissioned.
The exploratory study was aimed at helping to identify high-burden under-researched medical conditions and define the type of research and/or research priorities to better address the different needs of patients with these conditions.

The study is completed and a ‘Discussion paper’ has just been published.

The EU Commission and the New Zealand government have successfully concluded the association negotiations for the Horizon Europe program under Pillar II "Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness". The signing of the association agreement is expected soon. This means that New Zealand institutions and scientists can then receive standard funding within the framework of calls for proposals from Pillar II of Horizon Europe, including the "Health" cluster, and also coordinate projects.

Further information

The HealthData@EU pilot is a two-year long European project bringing together 17 partners including national health data platforms and permit authorities, European agencies and research infrastructures, co-financed by the EU4Health program. It will build a pilot version of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) for the secondary use of health data “HealthData@EU” which will serve research, innovation, policy making and regulatory purposes.

Open call for experts to participate in the HealthData@EU pilot External Advisory Board

Deadline for submission of applications: 13 January 2023

The EU Joint Program - Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) is looking for scientists who would like to participate in an expert group on the following topic: "Concepts for health and social care research for neurodegenerative diseases".
Find further information on the JPND website.
The submission deadline is December 13, 2022.

On December 6, 2022, the EU Commission published the final version of the Horizon Europe Work Programme with the calls for proposals for 2023 and 2024. The Work Programme for Cluster 1 "Health" can be found in the Funding and Tenders Portal.

1st of December 2022 the European Commission launched an extensive public consultation on the past, present and future of the EU Framework Programs for Research and Innovation in the years 2014-2027.

The consultation consists of three elements:

• the final evaluation of Horizon 2020 (2014-2020)
• the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe (2021-2027)
• the design of the second strategic plan for Horizon Europe (2025-2027)

You are invited to give their opinion on the positive aspects and deficits of Horizon 2020 and the implementation of Horizon Europe so far and to help shape the strategic guidelines and priorities for the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan for the years 2025-2027.

Public consultation on Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 (open until 23. February 2023)

The EU Commission has pre-published several Horizon Europe work programs with calls for funding for 2023-2024, including the work program for the health cluster and the work program for the EU missions, including the cancer mission. You can find these on the website of the EU Commission.
We would like to point out that this is a pre-release and changes are therefore still possible.

In preparation for the planned European Partnership for Personalized Medicine, EP PerMed (probably 2024-2030), the EP PerMed Drafting Group is currently conducting an online consultation. The results are to be incorporated into the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), the further preparation of EP PerMed and the development of activities and calls for proposals within EP PerMed.
For more information and to participate in the online consultation until December 21, 2022, visit the consultation website.

The EU Commission has put a preliminary versions of the Horizon Europe work programs with calls for 2023-2024 online in its comitology register. It can be found here: Comitology register - work program for health.

The work program was submitted to the EU Member States for approval and adopted. In addition to the call texts, you will also find the provisional submission deadlines and budget framework in the document. The official work programs are expected to be published at the end of November 2022.