New EU Mission calls launched

With a budget of over €508 million, the EU Missions under Horizon Europe will open their calls this year between 4 and 12 February, following a staggered timetable across the five major strategic areas defined by the European Commission:

• Adaptation to climate change (€82.19 million): accelerating the implementation of climate adaptation solutions at regional and local level, strengthening climate services, improving resilience to risks, and mobilising public and private funding.
• Cancer (€124.19 million): advancing prevention, early diagnosis, personalised treatments and patients’ quality of life through clinical research, digitalisation and capacity building.
• Restore our oceans and waters (€115.3 million): demonstrating large-scale solutions for the restoration of marine and freshwater ecosystems, pollution reduction, participatory resource management and deployment of the Digital Twin Ocean.
• Climate-neutral and smart cities (€38 million): demonstrating integrated urban solutions for energy efficiency, transport decarbonisation and the transition of buildings towards low-emission systems.
• A Soil deal for Europe (€81 million): monitoring and improving soil health, addressing antimicrobial resistance, fostering innovation through living labs and transferring sustainable solutions between regions.

These strands are complemented by Joint Calls (€67.5 million), which combine objectives from several missions to promote large-scale demonstrators in areas such as resilience to extreme events or the circular economy in urban environments.

The launch of these calls marks one of the most significant moments of the year for European research and innovation stakeholders, who will need to compete in highly demanding processes with reinforced requirements in terms of consortia, governance, impact and alignment with public policies. The deadlines are scheduled between September and October.

The Missions represent a different way of steering investment in R&I within Horizon Europe. Their design is based on concrete, measurable challenges for 2030 and combines research, innovation, regulation and citizen engagement. Unlike other calls under the framework programme, the Missions require projects capable of demonstrating tangible effects on territories, productive sectors or specific social groups, as well as clear mechanisms for replicability and scaling up.

Strategic phase, preparation and submission

In this context, Zabala Innovation supports public and private organisations throughout the entire life cycle of Mission-related projects. Its work begins at the strategic phase, with the analysis of idea fit, the definition of project positioning and the identification of European partners capable of responding to the multi-actor logic required by these calls. “Missions cannot be understood without a clear prior strategy and without consortia built with a balance between science, territory and implementation capacity,” says Mar Basterrechea, Zabala Innovation’s lead manager in this field.

Proposal preparation is one of the main sources of complexity. Beyond technical development, the Missions require coherent integration of administrative, financial and impact-related aspects, as well as explicit alignment with the indicators and objectives defined by the European Commission. At this stage, Zabala Innovation provides support for the comprehensive drafting of proposals and coordination of partners to ensure coherence and feasibility. In Basterrechea’s words, “a strong Mission proposal must demonstrate from the outset how it will transform a specific reality and how it will be sustained beyond the project.”

Project implementation and positioning

Once projects are approved, the focus shifts to implementation. Administrative, financial and legal management becomes central, particularly in large-scale initiatives involving multiple actors. Zabala Innovation offers ongoing support in relations with the European Commission, the preparation and negotiation of contracts, and the monitoring of milestones and deliverables, using methodologies tailored to each project. This support also extends to risk management and adapting projects to potential regulatory or contextual changes.

The Missions also incorporate a strong strategic positioning component. Participation in these projects enables organisations to strengthen their European visibility and their role within communities of practice aligned with EU priorities. In this area, Zabala Innovation collaborates on strengthening alliances, defining communication strategies and designing actions that maximise project impact. “It is not just about delivering a project well, but about positioning organisations within the European ecosystem where decisions are being made,” Basterrechea notes.

Horizontal activities

These services are complemented by key horizontal activities such as the management of cascade funding, dissemination and communication of results, exploitation of outcomes and social impact analysis. The Missions require the demonstration of benefits beyond the scientific domain, which entails working with citizens, public administrations and the business sector. Zabala Innovation also acts as a partner in the management of knowledge platforms and in the design of strategies for the transfer and use of results.

The context in which these calls are framed is that of a framework programme seeking to accelerate Europe’s response to complex challenges. Horizon Europe Missions are conceived as coordination instruments between European, national and regional policies, and as levers to mobilise public and private investment. Their systemic approach is further reinforced through joint calls that cut across several missions, increasing the requirements for integration and coherence.