Navigating Europe’s Health Research Landscape: the essential newsletter for 2026 and beyond
As Europe accelerates investment in health research and innovation, the opportunities for researchers, startups, companies and public bodies have never been greater, nor more complex. Horizon Europe, the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), the European Innovation Council (EIC) and EU Missions are rolling out an ambitious set of calls across 2026 and 2027, covering everything from cancer research and healthy ageing to AI, climate resilience and next‑generation biomedical technologies.
Staying informed is crucial. Our health research funding newsletter is a comprehensive resource for Ireland’s research and innovation community. It's more than a simple listing of calls - it provides a structured, overview of upcoming EU funding opportunities, key dates, support events and partnership‑building resources, all in one place.
Why you need to subscribe
At the heart of the newsletter is a full overview of Horizon Europe Cluster 1 Health calls for 2026 and 2027. These calls align with six strategic destinations aimed at improving health outcomes across Europe:
- Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society
- Living and working in health‑promoting environments
- Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden
- Ensuring equal access to high‑quality healthcare
- Developing new tools and digital health solutions
- Strengthening Europe’s health industry and innovation capacity
The newsletter highlights how this work programme addresses major societal and scientific challenges — including disabilities, non‑communicable diseases, pandemic preparedness, climate change impacts, AI in healthcare, bioprinting, regenerative medicine and virtual twins. It also flags indicative opening and closing dates and reminds applicants to use the most up‑to‑date application templates, helping teams avoid common proposal pitfalls.
Information Days and Brokerage Events - the practical supports
Readers are guided toward key information days, such as the Horizon Europe Cluster 1 Health Info Day in February 2026, where the European Commission presents the calls directly and answers questions live.
Equally valuable are the brokerage events, designed to help applicants find partners and build competitive consortia. The Cluster 1 Health Brokerage Event, for example, offers pitching sessions, bilateral meetings and matchmaking tools, all of which are crucial for forming strong, well‑balanced project teams ahead of proposal deadlines.
Focus on Cancer and EU Missions
Cancer remains a flagship priority within Horizon Europe - the newsletter outlines Cancer Mission calls for 2026 and 2027, highlights dedicated information days, and points readers to mission‑specific brokerage events covering cancer alongside the other EU Missions relating to climate adaptation, oceans, cities and soil health.
The inclusion of cross‑cutting and joint mission calls, such as those linking cancer and soil health, signals the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of EU research funding and helps applicants spot opportunities they might otherwise miss.
Cancer Mission Call Closing Dates
Innovation Pathways Through EIC and IHI
Beyond traditional collaborative research calls, the newsletter shines a light on innovation‑driven funding pathways. It summarises key health‑related challenges under the European Innovation Council (EIC), including biotechnology for healthy ageing and the translation of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) that can reduce reliance on animal testing.
It also offers a detailed overview of Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) Call 12, explaining its five thematic objectives, from understanding disease determinants to exploiting digitalisation in healthcare. With links to call texts, webinars and brokerage platforms, the newsletter provides a gateway into complex public‑private partnership funding.
Why Subscribe?
Whether you are a researcher, innovator, clinician, policymaker or industry partner, subscribing ensures you stay informed, prepared and connected - missed information can mean missed funding!
Share it with colleagues, circulate it across your networks, and subscribe to stay ahead of Europe’s evolving health research agenda.