AI integration in CCSI work practice: catalysing innovation and competitiveness

HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE-03 is a significant funding opportunity under Horizon Europe aimed at integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into cultural and creative sectors and industries (CCSI) to enhance innovation, competitiveness, and inclusivity. This call is classified as an Innovation Action (IA), with an overall budget of €15 million, intended to support approximately 3 grants ranging from €4 million to €5 million each.

Eligible applicants include a wide range of organizations such as universities, cultural institutions, technology companies, non-profits, and public bodies. Each proposal must be submitted by a consortium comprising representatives from both CCSI and technology developers, ensuring cross-sector collaboration. The opportunity is open to entities from EU Member States and Associated Countries.

The application process is a single-stage submission, with an opening date set for 12 May 2026 and a deadline for submissions on 23 September 2026. Successful projects are expected to develop scalable pilots for AI-enabled products and services, providing insights, strategies, and methods to support AI integration in CCSI practices.

Financial support is structured as a lump sum grant, and beneficiaries may also provide financial backing to third parties involved in projects, allowing for broader ecosystem engagement. The anticipated outcomes include validated business models, tailored tools for AI use, and contributions to cultural heritage preservation and accessibility.

While specific success rates for this call are not published, historical data suggests success rates typically range from 10-25% for similar initiatives. Co-funding is encouraged but not explicitly required, suggesting that consortia should consider additional funding sources to increase project viability.

Overall, this initiative aims to leverage AI to transform CCSI practices and foster a vibrant and inclusive cultural landscape, enhancing creativity and societal well-being within Europe.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE-03, focused on AI integration in CCSI work practice to catalyse innovation and competitiveness. It falls under the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society 2026 call (HORIZON-CL2-2026-01). It is a Horizon Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a lump sum grant agreement. The planned opening date is 12 May 2026, and the deadline for submission is 23 September 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of projects funded under this topic include:
1. Availability of insights, recommendations, strategies, guidelines, methods, and tools supporting full AI integration in CCSI practices for CCSI, policymakers, and stakeholders.
2. Availability of scenarios for co-created solutions tailored to CCSI needs, utilizing quality data and federated data sources, along with digital infrastructures and inclusive cooperation processes.
3. Benefit to creators, cultural professionals, and society from generally available AI-powered and ethically designed solutions, tools, and services in several CCSI areas, fostering innovative creative expressions and improving creative business models while preserving and enhancing cultural diversity and inclusion, including persons with disabilities and other specific needs.
4. Empowerment of CCSI as drivers of culture, innovation, competitiveness, and societal wellbeing through mastering ethical and inclusive AI.

The scope of this call is as follows:
AI technologies are seen as transformative, providing opportunities for human creativity, experimentation, and co-creation. They significantly impact cultural and creative sectors and industries (CCSI), changing practices and enabling innovative services and products. AI is increasingly used by artists, industry players, and cultural organizations for content creation, production, management, trend prediction, market content personalization, audience engagement, cultural heritage preservation, and accessibility.
CCSI need to fully harness AI's potential to remain relevant, expand their impact and value, increase competitiveness, and maintain their vibrant and inclusive nature. Embracing and co-creating ethical AI solutions tailored to CCSI needs can automate low-creativity tasks, allowing increased focus on high-value activities that enhance creativity and productivity. This unlocks unprecedented possibilities, reduces production times and costs, expands market reach, enhances cultural heritage preservation and interpretation, improves inclusive access, and potentially creates new job categories.
A comprehensive understanding of enabling frameworks and factors, as well as what is lacking in data, standards, infrastructure, computing power, tools, knowledge, and capacity, is essential for CCSI to fully embrace AI opportunities. Proposals should assess the current level of AI readiness in CCSI, investigate barriers to AI adoption, and highlight areas where AI can offer the most benefits. Through continuous engagement with the sectors, analysis of current practices, and concrete use cases, proposals should produce strategic guidance for seamless AI integration into CCSI operations, enhancing efficiencies, averting risks, and facilitating cross-sector collaboration. Tailored tools should be developed to address specific gaps and leverage opportunities, aligned with sector needs, scalable, affordable for smaller actors, and accompanied by documentation and training materials.

Proposals should address one or both of the following options:
1. Develop scalable pilots for innovative AI-enabled products and services across diverse segments of sectoral value chains, in cooperation with CCSI. These pilots should address identified gaps in CCSI operations and prioritize solutions that catalyse innovation in sectors whose business models are not yet taking full advantage of AI. Applicants should have flexibility to select their preferred application areas.
2. Design and pilot innovative, inclusive, ethically driven, transparent AI solutions to foster cultural and linguistic diversity and enhance accessibility, with a focus on engaging individuals in vulnerable situations, particularly youth, older people, persons with disabilities, and individuals with special needs. Applicants should have the flexibility to select their preferred application areas.

Pilots should aim at leveraging AI for facilitating new revenue streams for the CCSI, as well as sustainable business models, and will highlight marketable solutions. Financial support to third parties may be foreseen, with the aim of engaging entities external to the consortium in the development of pilots. Consortia should include representatives of the cultural and creative sectors and industries and technology developers.

Proposals should consider relevant policy initiatives, such as the AI Continent Action Plan, and build upon existing research and innovation outcomes, particularly insights and resources from Horizon Europe-funded projects focused on digital transformation, innovation, or competitiveness in the CCSI, and science-technology-art collaboration, and should liaise with the EIT KIC Culture and Creativity. Whenever relevant, they might make use of existing facilities and platforms such as the European High-Performance-Computing network, the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH), the Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage, ALT EDIC and other data spaces, European Digital Innovation Hubs, AI Factories, and relevant research infrastructures.

The general conditions for this call include:
1. Admissibility Conditions: The proposal page limit for Part B of the Innovation Action (IA) application using lump sum is 50 pages. A detailed budget table must be submitted.
2. Eligible Countries: As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Some non-EU/non-Associated Countries have specific provisions for funding.
3. Other Eligible Conditions: Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5. Evaluation and award: The award criteria, submission and evaluation processes, and indicative timeline are described in Annexes D and F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
6. Legal and financial set-up: Eligible costs will be in the form of a lump sum. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60 000 per third party. The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the action's end.

The application form templates and evaluation form templates are available in the Submission System. Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide, Lump Sum MGA, call-specific instructions, detailed budget table, information on financial support to third parties, and guidance on lump sums. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, the decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme, rules for legal entity validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statement.

The budget for this topic, HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE-03, is EUR 15 000 000 for the year 2026. It is a single-stage call, opening on 12 May 2026, with a deadline of 23 September 2026. The estimated contribution per project is between EUR 4 000 000 and EUR 5 000 000, and the indicative number of grants is 3.

There are 4 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic.

This funding opportunity aims to foster the integration of Artificial Intelligence within the Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries (CCSI) to enhance innovation, competitiveness, and inclusivity. It seeks to address the current gaps in AI adoption within these sectors by funding projects that develop scalable pilots, ethical AI solutions, and strategic guidance. The goal is to empower CCSI to leverage AI for new revenue streams, sustainable business models, and improved accessibility, ultimately driving cultural diversity and societal well-being. Consortia are expected to include representatives from both the cultural and technology sectors, and projects should align with relevant EU policy initiatives. The funding is provided as a lump sum, with opportunities for financial support to third parties involved in pilot projects.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types for this opportunity include representatives of the cultural and creative sectors and industries (CCSI) and technology developers. The CCSI encompass a wide array of sectors and industries, including architecture, archives, the arts, libraries, museums, artistic crafts, audiovisual (film, television, software, video games, multimedia, recorded music), tangible and intangible cultural heritage, design, creativity-driven high-end industries and fashion, festivals, music, literature, performing arts (theatre and dance), books and publishing (newspapers and magazines), radio and visual arts, and advertising.

Funding Type: The funding type for this opportunity is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) using a lump sum grant (HORIZON-AG-LS) mechanism. Financial support to third parties is also possible in the form of grants, with a maximum of EUR 60,000 per third party.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. Consortia should include representatives of the cultural and creative sectors and industries and technology developers.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic eligibility appears to be within the EU, with potential eligibility extending to non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have made specific provisions for funding participants in Horizon Europe projects. The Horizon Europe Programme Guide provides further details on eligible countries.

Target Sector: The program targets the cultural and creative sectors and industries (CCSI), with a focus on integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance innovation, competitiveness, and inclusivity. Specific sectors mentioned within CCSI include architecture, archives, the arts, libraries, museums, artistic crafts, audiovisual (film, television, software, video games, multimedia, recorded music), tangible and intangible cultural heritage, design, creativity-driven high-end industries and fashion, festivals, music, literature, performing arts (theatre and dance), books and publishing (newspapers and magazines), radio and visual arts, and advertising. The program also targets technology developers who can contribute to AI solutions for these sectors.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU and non-EU/non-Associated Countries.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project for this opportunity is at the pilot stage, with an emphasis on developing scalable pilots for innovative AI-enabled products and services. The pilots should address identified gaps in CCSI operations and prioritize solutions that catalyze innovation.

Funding Amount: The budget overview provides a breakdown of funding for various topics under the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society 2026 call. For the specific topic HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE-03, which is an Innovation Action, the total budget is EUR 15,000,000, with an indicative contribution ranging from EUR 4,000,000 to EUR 5,000,000 per grant.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call, meaning applicants submit a full proposal at once.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant. They may also provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, up to EUR 60,000 per third party.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage, where applicants submit a complete proposal for evaluation.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants for the HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE-03 topic is 3, which can be used to roughly estimate the success rate based on the number of expected proposals.

Co-funding Requirement: The details do not explicitly state a co-funding requirement from the applicant.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call (HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE-03) focuses on integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the cultural and creative sectors and industries (CCSI) to foster innovation and competitiveness. It seeks to fund projects that develop and pilot scalable AI solutions, tools, and services tailored to the specific needs of CCSI, with an emphasis on ethical design, inclusivity, and the preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity. Consortia applying for this Innovation Action grant should include representatives from both the cultural and creative sectors and technology developers. The funding is provided as a lump sum, with the possibility of providing financial support to third parties. The application process is a single-stage submission, with an opening date planned for 12 May 2026 and a deadline of 23 September 2026. The expected outcome is to make available insights, recommendations, strategies, guidelines, methods and tools supporting full AI integration in CCSI practices, as well as to empower CCSI as drivers of culture, innovation and societal wellbeing.