Strategic Funding Partners

€96 million opens for EU cybersecurity as the autumn application run begins

07 September 2026 · Strategic Funding Partners

Published 07 September 2026 · SFP Pulse · Weekly Research

> €96 million opens for cybersecurity, Eureka offers 20 EIC fast-track places, and new selections back research training, AI and robotics.

Seven cybersecurity funding topics opened on 1 September, while eligible Eurostars-3 alumni have until 25 September to compete for 20 places on Eureka's fast track to the EIC Accelerator. This week's results bring €105.5 million for research training and €81.3 million for seven AI, robotics and advanced-materials proposals, subject to grant agreement preparation. Also inside: new MSCA recruitment guidance, citizen energy support and the international partner-search conversation.

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€96 million opens for European cybersecurity capacity and compliance

A new €96 million funding package puts cybersecurity capacity and preparedness on the autumn application agenda. The European Cybersecurity Competence Centre opened seven topics under Digital Europe on 1 September, covering work to strengthen cybersecurity technologies and capabilities across the Union. Digital Europe supports the deployment and uptake of digital capabilities, making this a different proposition from a purely research-focused call.

One €20 million topic brings the connection between funding and regulation into focus. It supports stronger cybersecurity capacities in line with legislative requirements, with work relevant to the Cyber Resilience Act, NIS 2 and DORA. For organisations helping businesses and public bodies put cybersecurity obligations into practice, this is a topic to examine closely: it connects technical capability with the practical demands of compliance.

The wider package is relevant to technology developers, national and regional authorities, and organisations delivering cybersecurity services. These are potential audiences, not a blanket eligibility list; the role an organisation can take depends on the individual topic. Teams should compare the expected outcomes with their capabilities and identify where partners would be needed.

The €20 million legislative-compliance topic envisages five projects, with indicative grants of €3 million to €5 million each, and closes on 14 January 2027. That date applies to this topic only. Check the ECCC call page for the conditions and deadlines of all seven topics.

Source: ECCC: strengthening European cybersecurity technologies, capacities and preparedness.

Eureka opens 20 EIC fast-track places for Eurostars-3 alumni

For companies completing a Eurostars-3 project, the next funding application need not start at the EIC Accelerator's first step. Eureka has opened Call 5 of its Fast Track route, offering 20 full-proposal tickets to eligible companies. The EIC Accelerator supports companies developing and scaling innovations; this route gives qualifying Eurostars-3 alumni a way to reach its full application stage without completing the initial application step.

The offer includes more than the ticket. Applicants go through expert evaluation and pitching, with feedback and a practice pitch built into the process. Successful companies would then prepare a full EIC Accelerator proposal for a 2027 cut-off. That makes the route relevant to teams considering how to take the results of their Eurostars-3 work into their next stage of development.

The audience is specific: eligible companies that have completed a Eurostars-3 project, not start-ups or SMEs generally. A fast-track ticket is permission to proceed to a later application stage, not an EIC funding award. Companies still need to meet the Accelerator's requirements and prepare a competitive full proposal. Check the Call 5 eligibility conditions before committing to the September application timetable.

> 📅 Apply by 25 September 2026, 14:00 CEST. Eligibility checks conclude on 28 September, remote evaluation runs from 2 to 16 October, pitching takes place from 26 to 29 October, and jury decisions are scheduled for 30 October. Check the Eurostars-3 eligibility conditions before preparing an application.

Sources: Eureka Call 5; published timetable.

Citizen energy support call opens, with applications due 2 October

Citizen energy initiatives facing financial, legal or technical obstacles have a new opportunity to apply for hands-on help. The Citizen Energy Advisory Hub has opened its second technical assistance call, with applications due by 2 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST.

The distinction from a funding call matters: the hub provides expertise and practical support, not a cash grant to spend on a project. For an initiative that needs to resolve questions about its finances, legal arrangements or technical approach, access to specialist advice may be the more immediate need. Applicants should describe the problem they want help solving, rather than approach this as a request for a project budget.

The hub plans to support 120 beneficiaries across two calls, with around 50 projects selected in the first round. This second round is therefore relevant to citizen energy initiatives seeking support with the practical work of developing their projects. The guidance sets out who can apply and what assistance is available; teams should check those conditions and identify their support needs before submitting.

Sources: Commission technical assistance call; Call 2 guidance note.

Women Innovators prize opens with awards up to €100,000

The 2027 European Prize for Women Innovators opened on 2 September, offering recognition and cash prizes for women driving innovation. Unlike a collaborative project call, this is a prize competition: the application is about the innovator and their achievements, rather than a consortium seeking a budget for future research.

The Women Innovators category offers prizes of €100,000, €70,000 and €50,000. Rising Innovators, for applicants under 35, offers €50,000, €30,000 and €20,000. The award amounts make this worth the attention of prospective applicants, while research commercialisation teams, incubators and innovation networks can help bring the competition to suitable candidates' attention.

The immediate next step is the online information session on 17 September, from 11:00 to 12:00 CEST. Prospective applicants should use the published competition rules and session to check the relevant category, eligibility requirements and evidence needed. Applications close on 1 December 2026 at 17:00 CET.

Sources: EIC prize announcement; information session.

Information

Updated MSCA guidance clarifies recruitment and mobility rules

How a researcher is appointed, and where they have been working, can matter as much as their research credentials when an MSCA project checks eligibility. Version 2.0 of the Commission's Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Financial Guide, dated 1 September 2026, clarifies both issues for organisations recruiting researchers and managing funded projects.

The guide explains that public-sector recruitment through a public-law appointment act can count as an equivalent direct contract. This is relevant to institutions whose recruitment arrangements differ from a conventional employment contract: the clarification helps them assess those arrangements against the programme's requirements.

It also clarifies mobility-rule exemptions for researchers with temporary protection or refugee status and the meaning of "country of main activity" in mobility assessments. These provisions concern specific circumstances. They should not be read as a general relaxation of the mobility rules or a blanket exemption.

For project managers, university research offices and HR teams, the practical task is to compare the new wording with current recruitment and eligibility checks. Teams handling appointments or mobility cases covered by these clarifications should consult the updated guide before relying on an earlier interpretation.

Sources: Commission MSCA Financial Guide; Technology Centre Prague: updated guide.

EU seeks views on research partnership priorities for 2028 to 2034

Organisations using European research partnerships have until 16 October to tell the Commission what they want from the next generation of programmes. The consultation concerns the structure and thematic priorities of the partnership portfolio for 2028 to 2034, rather than the conditions of an individual funding call.

European partnerships bring EU institutions together with public or private partners around shared research and innovation priorities. This consultation covers the future Single Basic Act for Joint Undertakings, Article 185 initiatives and the themes the wider portfolio should address. In practical terms, it concerns how these collaborative funding routes will be organised and where their attention should go.

Responses will feed an impact assessment and a legislative proposal expected in late 2026 or early 2027. The consultation does not itself settle the future programmes, but it gives participants a route to put their experience and priorities into that process.

Research organisations, businesses and public bodies that participate in, or plan around, partnership funding should review the questions. Their experience of the current programmes can inform a response about what should be retained, changed or given greater attention in the next portfolio.

Source: Commission public consultation.

Selected and funded

Research training, AI, robotics and advanced materials feature in two newly announced selection rounds. These are results from completed calls, not new application opportunities; grant agreement preparation remains outstanding.

Talk of the week

Away from the official announcements, there is plenty to talk about. Here is what is drawing attention this week, with a little distance between the speculation and the decisions.

A bigger research budget? An appealing prospect, but not a done deal. Research Professional reports that the Council presidency expects a significant funding increase for FP10. That is an expectation, not an agreed increase or a confirmed amount. Parliament's industry and research committee is also expected to vote on its two draft reports this autumn, although no date is confirmed. In the UK, the conversation comes with a less celebratory question: who pays the association bill if the programme grows? More funding at European level does not automatically mean more domestic money to cover participation.

Defence funding has its own sceptics, with discussion questioning how far European collaboration can go while member states continue buying nationally. Meanwhile, researchers with career breaks are still asking why eligibility clocks seem designed for careers that run in a straight line. Neither debate is new, but both are worth keeping in view while the next programme takes shape.

The Horizon Europe association conversation also brings India, Australia, Canada and Japan into focus. For organisations in these countries, the practical questions are much the same: how can we participate, who can we work with, and where do we find the right European partners? The answers depend on each country's relationship with the programme and the rules of the particular call, but understanding those rules is only part of the job. Building the right team is the other. This is where we come in. We build consortia, helping organisations find the right partners and shape a credible proposal. Wherever you are based, get in touch. We can help you work out where you fit, what the participation rules mean for you and how to take the next step.

What to watch

September's diary includes partnership information days and Commission webinars on managing Horizon Europe projects, followed by further sessions in October. Dates and times below are as published by the organisers.

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