Health
Alternative programmes expand support options for innovative projects beyond Horizon Europe and the Cancer Mission
At a glance: the essentials of this article
The growing competition in Horizon Europe calls is driving researchers to seek new sources of health research funding. Programmes such as the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), EU co-funded partnerships, and EU4Health open up new opportunities to advance projects that improve healthcare systems and strengthen international cooperation. Zabala Innovation advises European organisations on how to access these opportunities and is already preparing proposals for upcoming calls.
“Research in health-related areas remains essential to position the EU at the forefront of innovation in this highly demanding sector.” With these words, Ane García, consultant in Zabala Innovation’s Health knowledge area, highlights the importance of exploring complementary funding avenues that can sustain scientific progress beyond traditional programmes.
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Many researchers across Europe and beyond take advantage of opportunities offered by well-known programmes in this field, such as Horizon Europe Cluster 1 – Health and the Cancer Mission, to secure financial support for their projects. These initiatives, however, are becoming increasingly competitive, with a growing number of applications reducing success rates.
The 2025 calls closed last September saw exceptionally high participation. Some topics even registered success rates as low as 3% or 4%, according to the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. “This highly competitive environment, combined with the fact that most calls close shortly after summer—when many consortium partners are unavailable—can be frustrating for researchers seeking funding through these instruments,” García explains.
What is less widely known, according to the expert, is that there are additional funding opportunities for health research in Europe beyond those already mentioned. Among these are the EU4Health programme and several European partnerships related to health issues, such as the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI). “Each of these programmes has specific conditions and requirements that must be carefully analysed when preparing a proposal,” García advises.
The IHI is an institutionalised partnership between the European Commission, private members representing various healthcare sectors (COCIR, EFPIA, EuropaBio and MedTech Europe), and other contributing partners. This public–private partnership funds health research and innovation projects that address public health needs, improve patients’ lives, and strengthen the competitiveness of Europe’s health industries.
Its funding schemes can follow either a one-stage or a two-stage submission process. In two-stage calls, applicant consortia—made up of research and higher education organisations, SMEs, NGOs, healthcare providers and patient associations, among others—prepare a proposal in response to the topic. In the second stage, these consortia join pre-identified industry partners—the private members of IHI—in a non-competitive process to develop the final joint proposal.
In single-stage calls, public and private entities collaborate from the outset to submit a joint proposal, in which at least 45% of the budget must be contributed by industry, either as a direct financial contribution or in kind.
“Understanding the different submission schemes, eligible entities and budget contribution mechanisms—such as IKOP, FC and IKAA—is key to successful participation in IHI,” García notes.
In her words, “Zabala Innovation has experience in both submission modalities. In recent years, it has supported the successful funding of a project under IHI’s two-stage Call 4, the READI project, and expects good news soon from the recently closed single-stage Call 9.”
The European co-funded partnerships in the health area usually focus on specific topics, such as:
These co-funded partnerships stem from topics included in the Cluster 1 Work Programme. Consortia formed by national and regional funding bodies submit proposals to the Cluster 1 call to manage the partnership. The selected project then establishes governance structures, defines strategic priorities, and often launches calls to support research and innovation projects.
The budget for these calls is managed nationally by the funding agencies participating in the partnership. Each agency sets its own eligibility rules for entities from its country or region, making consortium formation more complex. Therefore, applicants must be familiar with the application procedures, submission platforms and eligibility criteria specific to each call, as well as maintain a broad European network of potential partners.
“Zabala Innovation has recently guided clients in preparing proposals for EU health partnerships such as ERA4Health and THCS,” García highlights. “With specialised teams in both European and national/regional funding programmes, and a wide network of collaborators across Europe, Zabala Innovation offers a clear advantage in navigating these multi-level funding environments,” she adds.
Most EU health partnerships launch their calls at the end of the year, with deadlines typically falling in January or February. Therefore, “starting proposal preparation towards the end of 2025 will allow enough time to develop high-quality submissions,” García advises.
The EU4Health programme was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely affected healthcare systems, patients and medical staff across Europe. It is the largest EU health programme ever launched, with a budget exceeding €5 billion for the period 2021–2027.
EU4Health periodically opens calls through two main instruments: Action Grants, open to consortia of applicants, and Direct Grants (Joint Actions), restricted to pre-selected participants. Action Grant projects are typically collaborative, focusing on implementing good practices, improving procedures, training and awareness-raising activities. Some calls may also fund non-collaborative projects.
Overall, these calls are less competitive than health-related opportunities in Horizon Europe, often featuring lower participation rates. García points out that in recent years, “Zabala Innovation has successfully supported the funding of both types of EU4Health projects: JA PRISM, a joint action on mental health led by Biosistemak, and SPEEDCELL, an Action Grant by HIPRA aimed at accelerating the development and manufacturing of biologics and cell lines, particularly those used in vaccines.”
Some partnerships, such as ERA4Health, Brain Health, OHAMR EP Per Med, and ERDERA, have already announced or pre-announced their upcoming calls, and others are expected to do so soon. This, along with the draft topics for new IHI calls to be published shortly, makes this “the perfect moment to explore the different funding opportunities available for health-related projects,” García advises. “We have already started developing project ideas with our clients for the upcoming calls and are always open to collaborating with new partners and researchers,” she concludes.
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