Deadline Date: March 25, 2026
The CORNET 41st Call for Proposals invites international consortia to submit collective research projects that strengthen innovation and competitiveness among small and medium-sized enterprises through cross-border collaboration.
The focus of this call is on international collective research, industrial research and development, applied research and development, demonstrations, technology and knowledge transfer, dissemination workshops and training, collective research serving a wide grouping of SMEs, structured knowledge transfer and dissemination, pre-competitive research collaboration, and international added value through the combination of complementary national or regional competencies. This call is organised under the framework of CORNET, the COllective Research NETworking initiative, which brings together national and regional ministries and funding organisations to enable international cooperation through existing funding programmes. CORNET operates as a self-sustained network coordinated by the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control, acting under the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and facilitates collaboration while respecting national and regional funding rules.
Projects submitted under this call are expected to build on existing national or regional collective research programmes, with each participating organisation receiving funding from its respective national or regional funding body. As a result, participation conditions and funding rules may vary within a single consortium, reflecting the regulations applicable in each participating country or region.
Funding is provided in the form of grants to approved project budgets, with projects having a maximum duration of 24 months. Eligible activities primarily include industrial and applied research and development, while certain countries or regions may also support demonstrations, technology and knowledge transfer activities, and dissemination events such as workshops and training sessions.
Eligible costs and expenditures are governed entirely by national or regional rules, with no additional CORNET-specific requirements. Depending on the funding scheme, support may be based on costs or expenditures and typically covers personnel, overheads, travel and subsistence, equipment, materials and consumables, equipment depreciation where applicable, and subcontracting costs not directly related to research and development.
A central eligibility requirement is that proposals clearly address collective research, defined as research that serves the needs of a broad group of companies, primarily SMEs, represented by an association, federation, sectoral institute, or similar body that plays a key role in planning and organising the research. Effective knowledge transfer is mandatory, ensuring that research results are disseminated across the target group and that non-discriminatory technical and legal pathways exist for technology transfer. Projects must also be pre-competitive in nature, involving collaboration without competition, and must not fall under corporate, cooperative, or contract research conducted for individual company benefit.
In addition, proposals must demonstrate clear and significant added value from conducting the research at an international level, showing how the combination of competencies across countries or regions creates outcomes that could not be achieved by individual participants working alone. The call is open to all industrial sectors and technologies, although specific funding organisations may prioritise certain technical areas within their national or regional programmes.
For more information, visit CORNET.
