Deadline: 21-April-2026
The European Commission (EC) is inviting applications for initiatives that strengthen collaboration between industry and academia by mobilising the expertise of Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts, aiming to enhance innovation, support organisational development, and accelerate market uptake across European industries.
The focus areas and objectives include increasing innovation capabilities for industry by harnessing SSH expertise, improving strategies to bring new products and technologies to the market, facilitating industry exposure for SSH researchers to enhance understanding of industrial needs, fostering SSH–industry co-creation to address company and SME challenges, understanding socio-technical implications of new technologies, broadening strategic perspectives of companies, deepening understanding of customer needs, legal requirements and market pathways, integrating social, economic and cultural inequality considerations into innovation processes, developing new ideas and innovations, and contributing to organisational development, sustainability and long-term profitability.
The action is designed as a Coordination and Support Action that leverages the strengths of social sciences, humanities and arts to respond to concrete needs from companies and SMEs through structured knowledge exchange. By promoting dynamic co-creation between industry and academia, the initiative supports knowledge valorisation and helps align research insights with real-world industrial challenges.
The initiative also provides direct services to industry, SMEs, spin-offs and start-ups by supporting the resolution of company-specific challenges through international teams of SSH researchers and students. These collaborative engagements are expected to enhance problem-solving capacities, encourage new perspectives, and strengthen the innovation potential of participating companies.
It aligns with EU policy priorities supporting green and digital transitions, circular economy approaches, safe and sustainable by design principles, and the valorisation of knowledge to enhance industrial competitiveness and resilience. The indicative funding available for this action is 2,000,000 euros per project. The maximum funding range around €1,000,000.
Any legal entity, regardless of where it is established, including those from non-associated third countries or international organisations, may participate in Horizon Europe, whether or not it can receive funding, provided it meets the Regulation’s requirements and any specific call conditions. A ‘legal entity’ includes any natural or legal person recognised under national, EU, or international law that can act in its own name, exercise rights, and assume obligations, as well as some entities without legal personality.
For more information, visit European Commission.
