Cluster 6 Update 

As the new National Delegate and NCP for Cluster 6 (replacing Willie Ryan) based in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I am delighted to see the opening of the first set of calls under the Cluster 6 Work Programme 2026/2027 for food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment.

For interested applicants, pertinent and timely information was provided at the hybrid Information Days held on the 22 and 23 of January. Presentations from the sessions and recordings are available on-line. It is particularly worthwhile examining the ‘‘Key to Success’’ session to gain practical, valuable tips on improving your chances of securing funding. The session explains some of the novelties in the application system that are aimed at simplifying and speeding up the process. While the success rate within Cluster 6 is much higher than in other clusters it is still very competitive so making use of the advice provided is essential. The Information Days provided useful background information on what is relevant from a policy perspective as well as short introductory pitches on the 58 call topics in 2026, the types of instruments being funded and the expected number of projects to be funded. The overall budget for 2026 calls is just under €700 million. The first set of calls under the work programme are now open with closing dates in mid-April.

In January, I was delighted to attend a meeting in SETU Waterford with Mark Sweeney, Enterprise Ireland to help provide an overview of the opportunities arising under the Cluster 6 Work Programme. This was a useful opportunity to engage on Horizon Europe with SETU’s European Research Programme Officer Dr. Abhishek Babu,  SETU’s Head of Research, Dr. Geraldine Canny and some of the research staff

L-R: Geraldine Canny, SETU, Mark Sweeney, Enterprise Ireland, Abhishek Babu, SETU, Helen Murphy, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. 

Results from last year’s Cluster 6 calls, as well as the Soil Mission call are beginning to emerge, with applicants being notified of the results. The 2025 calls were very competitive with a large number of proposals submitted. Details of the successful projects will be published over the coming months. 

The Department is now co-funding five Horizon Europe Partnerships:   AGROECOLOGY Partnership;  European partnership for a sustainable Future of Food Systems (FutureFoodS); European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare; EU Partnership on Agriculture of Data (Ag Data) and European Partnership on One Health Antimicrobial Resistance . A number of these partnerships have open calls at present. More details on these can be found on DAFM Research - Open Calls. Please reach out to me if I can be of any assistance in relation to Cluster 6 of Horizon Europe and I look forward to building on Irelands overall success in securing Horizon funding in the remaining years of the programme.