Open calls · Research grant · Business, Management and Accounting
Open call for proposals Innovation projects
BP26-28 EITCC · Horizon Europe cascade funding · EITCC BP26-28 · HORIZON-EIT-2025-KIC-IBA-CC
Deadlines
- 30 Oct 2026 Cut-off passed
- 15 Mar 2027 Cut-off in 124 days
Who can apply
- Countries
- EU member states and countries associated with Horizon Europe
Money
- Total budget
- €10.5M
About the call
The Innovation Projects call supports high-impact, close-to-market innovations at TRL 7 , enabling their progression towards TRL 9 and full market deployment in the Architecture, Audio-Visual Media and Fashion sectors. Projects should demonstrate a credible commercialisation pathway and contribute to EIT Culture & Creativity objectives and KPIs, including market deployment and intellectual property generation.
Selected Stage 1 applicants receive a EUR 20,000 fixed lump sum during a six-week preparatory phase to develop a Business Development Plan covering areas such as market validation, IP and regulatory mapping and commercialisation strategy. Following Stage 2 evaluation, up to 11 projects may receive up to EUR 900,000 each for an 18-month implementation phase focused on technical development to TRL 9, validation and pilot deployment, market entry, commercialisation, investment readiness and scaling. EIT Culture & Creativity financial support may cover up to 70% of the eligible project costs used to establish the project-based lump sum .
Text from the funder (European Commission, CC BY 4.0).
Conditions in full
Applications follow a two-stage process . Stage 1 applications must be submitted through the EIT Culture & Creativity online submission platform by 30 October 2026, 17:00 CET . Following admissibility and eligibility checks, eligible Stage 1 proposals are independently evaluated by two external experts against Excellence, Impact, Quality and efficiency of implementation, and EU dimension. Proposals must meet all individual thresholds and achieve at least 23/30 points . Up to 30 selected applicants will be invited to Stage 2 and receive a EUR 20,000 fixed lump sum to prepare a Business Development Plan.
Stage 2 is open only to applicants selected following Stage 1. Full proposals must be submitted by 15 March 2027, 17:00 CET and are evaluated by four independent external experts: two technical/thematic and two business/financial experts . Proposals must achieve all applicable thresholds and at least 70/90 points to proceed to the internal portfolio selection, which includes a hearing and carries up to 40 additional points. Projects must obtain at least 24/40 points in portfolio selection. Final ranking is based on the combined external quality evaluation and portfolio selection scores, subject to available budget.
We sort calls into fields, career stages and countries automatically. Always check the conditions on the funder’s page before you apply.
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