The call Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (HORIZON-EIE-2026-01) covers the following topics:

HORIZON-EIE-2026-01-CONNECT-01  European network of national competence centers for innovation procurement

Topic description: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Enhanced capacity of public procurers to carry out PCPs and PPIs;
• Increased amount of PCPs and PPIs taking place at national level and across borders by transnational buyer groups;
• Enhanced awareness among companies, in particular startups and SMEs, of the possibilities offered by innovation procurements to grow their business, by promoting national innovation procurement business opportunities to companies across other EU Member States and Associated Countries;
• Increased amount of EU wide published preliminary market consultations and calls for tenders for PCP and PPI procurements and active promotion of those business opportunities to innovators in EU Member States and Associated Countries;
• Increased recognition of the strategic importance of PCP and PPI by policy makers and in national policies, contributing to increase innovation procurement uptake;
• Expansion and intensification of innovation procurement support measures implemented by innovation procurement competence centers across Europe.

HORIZON-EIE-2026-01-CONNECT-02 Expanding Investment Ecosystems

Topic description: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Increased foreign venture investments from funds from 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator regions and enabling later-stage growth for expansion to these regions of local start-ups from less connected and developed innovation ecosystems ('emerging” or 'moderate' innovator regions);
• Increased foreign investors’ awareness and access to the flow of local deals from 'emerging' or 'moderate' innovator regions;
• Improved foreign investors’ knowledge on regulatory frameworks and networks/syndicates to support joint cross-border venture investment in the above characterised underserved markets.
• Improved start-ups’ knowledge from 'emerging' or 'moderate' innovator regions on market and regulatory frameworks and expectations from networks in foreign 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator region to support their expansion and access to funding in these regions;
• Increased available and committed venture capital in less connected innovation ecosystems, enhancing their scale, diversity, breadth, openness and potential.

HORIZON-EIE-2026-01-CONNECT-03 Scaling up deep tech ecosystems

Topic description: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Enhanced development of deep tech ecosystems around pan-European research infrastructures to generate, scale and deploy breakthrough technologies with market and societal value;
• Increased involvement of industry, including SMEs, with research infrastructures to raise the technology level and competitiveness of companies and generate market opportunities, including through the generation of start-up or spin-off companies;
• Improved valorisation of the socio-economic impact of past investments in pan-European research infrastructures from the European Structural and Investment Funds;
• Foster the potential of pan-European research infrastructures for innovation training and education.

Submission deadline for proposals: 20 January 2026