Boosting innovation for people-centred integrated healthcare solutions

The Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU) Call 12 Topic 03 is a significant funding opportunity focused on boosting innovation for people-centred integrated healthcare solutions, falling under the Horizon Europe program. This initiative is part of a larger €2.4 billion public-private partnership aimed at translating health research into practical benefits for society, specifically targeting collaborative projects that address public health challenges. Eligible applicants include universities, research organizations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), mid-sized companies, patient organizations, regulatory bodies, and health-related industries within the EU or associated countries. While larger companies can participate, they must do so primarily as partners contributing in-kind resources. Importantly, a consortium-based approach is required, meaning applicants must form collaborative public-private partnerships that encompass diverse entities reflecting the integrative nature of the challenge. The funding comes in the form of a grant, specifically through the HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based model. As a Research and Innovation Action (RIA), the funds support collaborative activities with a direct aim towards practical implementation. Projects under this call are expected to operate at stages of demonstration, validation, and commercialization, focusing on developing innovative tools and methods that enhance healthcare delivery. The geographical scope predominantly covers the EU and Horizon Europe associated countries, with low and middle-income countries potentially eligible. The opportunity emphasizes healthcare research across multiple sectors, including pharmaceuticals, medical technology, biotechnology, digital health, and artificial intelligence, targeting key thematic areas like chronic disease management, personalized medicine, and patient engagement. Each proposal must showcase the feasibility of integrated healthcare solutions, addressing significant public health needs with a particular emphasis on patient journeys. Consortium participants must also secure co-funding, with industry partners covering at least 45% of project costs through in-kind contributions or cash, while the EU can provide up to 55%. Funding amounts range from €8 million to €20 million per grant, with a total budget of approximately €110 million available for this particular call, expecting to fund around two projects. The application process is a single-stage submission, encouraging eligible organizations to propose innovative solutions through the Funding and Tenders Portal. The expected outcomes include improved patient adherence to healthcare interventions, enhanced cooperation between various stakeholders in health solutions development, and the implementation of digital health technologies that better cater to patient needs. Projects must also align with various EU health initiatives and consider the regulatory impacts of their outputs. Overall, IHI JU Call 12 aims to reshape health research into a more integrated collaborative effort, ensuring that innovative solutions effectively translate into enhanced patient care and public health advancements. The call opened on January 15, 2026, with a submission deadline of April 21, 2026, marking a pivotal opportunity for stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem to engage in transformative health research and innovation.

This is a summary of the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) Joint Undertaking (JU) Call 12, specifically focusing on boosting innovation for people-centred integrated healthcare solutions. This call falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program and aims to fund Research and Innovation Actions (RIA).

The primary objective is to foster the development and implementation of people-centred, integrated healthcare solutions by harnessing new science and technologies. The call encourages pre-competitive research and innovation to create novel tools, methods, and technologies that will improve the prevention, interception, diagnosis, treatment, management, and recovery from diseases.

Expected Impacts:

Proposals should define impacts contributing to IHI JU’s Specific Objective 3, which includes:

Increased awareness among citizens and patients regarding their role in health management.

Improved patient adherence to prevention programs and medical interventions.

Empowering people, including vulnerable populations, to make informed decisions about their health.

Increased cooperation between patients, citizens, and industrial stakeholders in developing healthcare solutions.

Improved diagnostic and monitoring leading to better-adapted prevention and treatment.

Integrated healthcare solutions, including digital solutions, that better respond to patient needs.

Successful implementation of digital solutions for people-centred care.

Facilitated introduction of innovative solutions for improved home care.

Funded actions are also expected to contribute to:

Strengthening the competitiveness of the EU’s health industry through increased economic activity in health technology development.

Implementing the EU’s Life Sciences Strategy by reinforcing European R&I and engaging with citizens to ensure adequate solutions.

The actions should consider and contribute to EU programs, initiatives, and policies such as:

European Green Deal

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan

EU Mission on Cancer

Apply AI Strategy

European Virtual Human Twins Initiative

1+ Million Genomes Initiative

Preparedness and response to health emergencies

Upcoming EU Biotech Act

Regulation on the European Health Data Space (EHDS)

EU Artificial Intelligence Act

Expected Outcomes:

Proposals must define outcomes that contribute to the feasibility of people-centred, integrated healthcare solutions, aligning with IHI JU’s Specific Objective 3. Projects should deliver results that address public health needs and support the development of safe, people-centred, effective, cost-effective, and affordable health innovations. These outcomes should benefit stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem.

Expected outcomes may encompass the entire spectrum of care, from prevention to disease management, and may focus on:

Disease areas

Key themes

Approaches such as prevention

Precision diagnostics

Personalised medicine

Chronic disease management

Enabling solutions for:

Digitalisation

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Regulatory science

Greener and more sustainable healthcare

Deployment and use of these solutions in practice

Scope:

The call aims to fund pre-competitive research and innovation for novel tools, methods, and technologies that foster the development of health innovations. Applicants must form a collaborative public-private partnership consortium that reflects the integrative and cross-sectoral nature of IHI JU.

Proposals should:

Address an unmet public health need based on:

High disease burden

High economic impact

Transformational potential on innovation processes

Adopt people-centric approaches, focusing on the patient journey through healthcare.

Demonstrate the ability to translate research into innovative solutions that can be integrated into the healthcare ecosystem or industrial processes.

Carry out a landscape analysis to avoid overlap with existing initiatives and identify potential synergies.

Activities should be performed at a scale that considers the innovation cycles of the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries. Integrated pre-competitive activities, including demonstration pilots, are encouraged to accelerate the uptake of evidence-based practice and research outcomes.

Applicants should consider the potential regulatory impact of project outputs and develop a regulatory strategy, engaging with relevant bodies such as:

EU national competent authorities

Notified bodies for medical devices and in vitro diagnostic devices

Health technologies assessment (HTA) agencies

European Medicines Agency (EMA)

Consideration should be given to Health Data Access Bodies established under the European Health Data Space Regulation. Open access to project outputs, such as standards, data sets, and research results, is strongly encouraged.

General Conditions:

Admissibility Conditions:

Proposal page limit:50 pages for RIA full proposals (single-stage call).

Layout:Described in Part B of the Application Form.

Eligible Countries:

Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries may apply.

Other Eligible Conditions:

Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes and the IHI JU Work Programme (WP).

Financial and Operational Capacity and Exclusion:

Described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and Award:

Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes and the IHI JU Work Programme (WP).

Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Legal and Financial Set-up:

Described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific Conditions:

Specific conditions on Availability, Accessibility, and Affordability (3A) apply.

The JU reserves the right to object to transfer/exclusive licensing.

Application and Evaluation Forms and Model Grant Agreement (MGA):

Application forms and templates are available in the submission system.

Evaluation form for RIA Actions.

Proposal Templates Part A and Part B.

Annexes:

Annex to the budget and type of participants (Excel template).

Declaration of in-kind contribution commitment (Word template).

In-kind contributions to additional activities (IKAA) (Excel template).

Essential information for clinical studies.

Ethics (optional).

Contributing partners.

Model Grant Agreements (MGA):HE MGA

Additional Documents:

Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085

IHI JU Work Programme (WP)

Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA)

IHI JU Guide for Applicants

IHI JU FAQs

Horizon Europe Reference Documents

HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – General Annexes

HE Programme Guide

EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509

Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment

EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement

Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual

Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions

Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

Budget Overview:

The call has a total budget of €110,000,000 for HORIZON-JU-IHI-2026-12-SINGLE-STAGE-01, -02 and -03, €43,300,000 for HORIZON-JU-IHI-2026-12-SINGLE-STAGE-04 and €9,800,000 for HORIZON-JU-IHI-2026-12-SINGLE-STAGE-05.

Opening Date:15 January 2026

Deadline:21 April 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time

Partner Search:

LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests.

Support:

Online Manual

Horizon Europe Programme Guide

Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ

Research Enquiry Service

National Contact Points (NCPs)

Enterprise Europe Network

IT Helpdesk

European IPR Helpdesk

CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk

European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment

Partner Search

In summary, this IHI JU Call 12 aims to stimulate research and innovation in the healthcare sector by funding projects that develop people-centred, integrated healthcare solutions. It encourages collaborative, cross-sectoral partnerships to address unmet public health needs, integrate digital technologies, and promote the competitiveness of the EU’s health industry. The call emphasizes the importance of considering regulatory impacts, ensuring open access to research outputs, and aligning with EU health policies and initiatives. The call is structured as a single-stage process with a deadline of April 21, 2026, and offers significant funding opportunities for eligible consortia.

Eligible Applicant Types:The call requires a collaborative public-private partnership consortium. This suggests that eligible applicants can include a mix of public sector organizations (e.g., universities, research institutions, government bodies) and private sector entities (e.g., pharmaceutical companies, medical technology companies, SMEs, large enterprises). The emphasis on cross-sectoral nature implies that the consortium should include diverse types of organizations from different areas of the healthcare ecosystem.

Funding Type:The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG], as indicated in the call details. The actions are HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-JU-RIA).

Consortium Requirement:A consortium is required. The call explicitly states that "applicants must assemble a collaborative public-private partnership consortium."

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The call specifies eligibility based on Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, and mentions non-EU/non-Associated Countries may have specific provisions. This suggests a primary focus on EU and associated countries, with potential eligibility for some third countries depending on specific provisions outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector:The program targets the health sector, with a focus on health technologies, integrated health solutions, digital health, artificial intelligence in healthcare, precision diagnostics, personalised medicine, chronic disease management, regulatory science, and greener/more sustainable healthcare. It also touches on the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries.

Mentioned Countries:The call does not explicitly mention specific countries, but refers to EU, non-EU, and non-Associated Countries. Therefore, the geographic scope is broad, encompassing the EU and potentially other countries associated with or having specific agreements with the Horizon Europe program.

Project Stage:The projects should be at the pre-competitive research and innovation stage, focusing on developing novel tools, methods, and technologies. The call also welcomes demonstration pilots, suggesting projects should be at least at the development and demonstration stages, with an aim to translate research into innovative solutions that can be integrated into the healthcare ecosystem.

Funding Amount:The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call:

HORIZON-JU-IHI-2026-12-SINGLE-STAGE-01, -02, -03:€8,000,000 to €60,000,000

HORIZON-JU-IHI-2026-12-SINGLE-STAGE-04:€8,000,000 to €43,300,000

HORIZON-JU-IHI-2026-12-SINGLE-STAGE-05:€5,000,000 to €9,800,000

Application Type:The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support:Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support their research and innovation activities.

Application Stages:The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates:The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement:The text mentions "In-kind contributions to additional activities (IKAA)" as a compulsory annex for certain proposals, suggesting that co-funding or in-kind contributions may be required, especially if the proposal includes IKAA. A "Declaration of in-kind contribution commitment" is also a compulsory annex.

Summary:This is a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe program, specifically the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) Joint Undertaking (JU). The call aims to boost innovation in people-centred, integrated healthcare solutions. It seeks to fund research and innovation actions (RIA) that develop novel tools, methods, and technologies to improve healthcare across the spectrum of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and disease management. The call emphasizes the importance of public-private partnerships, requiring applicants to form a consortium that includes both public and private sector entities. Projects should address unmet public health needs, adopt people-centric approaches, and demonstrate the ability to translate research into practical solutions. The funding is provided as a grant, and the application process is single-stage. The call encourages applicants to consider the regulatory impact of their projects and to promote open access to research outputs. The overall goal is to strengthen the competitiveness of the EU's health industry and to improve the lives of citizens through innovative healthcare solutions.