Creative Innovation Lab

The Creative Innovation Lab (CREA-CROSS-2026-INNOVLAB) is a forthcoming call for proposals within the Creative Europe Programme aimed at fostering innovation across the cultural and creative sectors, particularly through cross-sectoral collaboration. The opportunity encourages a wide range of participants, including private and public entities, tech companies, start-ups, audiovisual organizations, cultural and creative organizations, as well as business incubators and accelerators.

The funding type is through CREA Project Grants, specifically designed for projects that aim to design, develop, and spread innovative tools, models, or solutions impacting the audiovisual sector, which is mandatory, along with one of the complementary sectors such as music, books, or museums. The program targets key themes including Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Worlds, and sustainability practices, all aligned with the priorities of the European Green Deal.

The call has an indicative budget of €7,021,561 for 2026, with applications accepted in a single-stage process set to open on October 23, 2025, and the submission deadline on April 23, 2026. Evaluation will take place from May to September 2026, with grant agreements finalized by January 2027.

Geographically, the call is focused on European countries, and while specific co-funding requirements are not detailed, they are generally expected within the Creative Europe framework. Ineligible activities include actual content production and cultural events, emphasizing an infrastructure and tools development approach.

This initiative is distinctive for its mandatory cross-sectoral cooperation, requiring projects to demonstrate collaboration between the audiovisual sector and at least one other domain. The objective is to address contemporary challenges such as digital transformation, environmental sustainability, and enhancing the competitiveness of European creative industries.

Potential applicants should prepare comprehensive proposals that reflect the innovative use of emerging technologies, sustainable practices, and strong market understanding. Early consultation with national Creative Europe Desks is recommended prior to submission to ensure compliance with program criteria.

The Creative Innovation Lab call, under the Creative Europe Programme (CREA), aims to support the design, development, and spread of innovative tools, models, or solutions applicable in the audiovisual sector (compulsory) and at least one of the following sectors: music, books, or museums. The call is designated as CREA-CROSS-2026-INNOVLAB, and the type of action is CREA-PJG (CREA Project Grants). The Model Grant Agreement type is CREA Action Grant Budget-Based [CREA-AG]. It is a forthcoming call with a single-stage deadline model.

The planned opening date for submissions is October 23, 2025, and the deadline for submitting applications is April 23, 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The objective of this scheme is to foster cooperation between the audiovisual sector and the music, book, or museum sectors. This collaboration aims to support their environmental transition, improve their competitiveness, enhance the circulation, visibility, discoverability, availability, and diversity of European content, and broaden the audience for European content across borders. Furthermore, the support seeks to enable the European audiovisual sector and the music, book, and museum sectors to better adapt to the opportunities presented by the development of Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Worlds.

Expected results include:

Improving the competitiveness of the European audiovisual and other cultural and creative sectors through transparency, data collection, appropriate use of artificial intelligence/big data, and adaptation to ongoing changes.
Enhancing the adaptation of the European audiovisual and other cultural and creative sectors to the opportunities offered by the development of virtual worlds (metaverse).
Improving the production, financing, and circulation of European audiovisual and cultural content in the digital age.
Increasing the visibility, discoverability, availability, and diversity of European audiovisual and cultural content in the digital age.
Increasing the potential audience of European audiovisual and cultural content in the digital age.
Accelerating the environmental transition of the European audiovisual, cultural, and other creative sectors, aligning with the priorities of the European Green Deal and the New European Bauhaus.

Funded activities should focus on one or more of the following topics:

Virtual Worlds as a new environment for the promotion of European content, audience renewal, and competitiveness of European content industries.
Innovative Business Tools for production, financing, distribution, or promotion enabled or enhanced by new technology (AI, big data, blockchain, Virtual Worlds, NFT, etc.), specifically:
Rights’ management and monetisation (including innovative bundled subscription offers to access diverse European cultural content from various existing European platforms), ensuring transparency and fair remuneration for creators and artists.
Data collection and analysis, with particular emphasis on prediction for content creation and audience development (including innovative cross-sectoral tools to improve the quality of the subscriber service and a better valorisation of European content offered by European online platforms).
"Greener" practices to lower the environmental impact of the audiovisual and other cultural sectors, in line with the Commission’s Green Deal and the New Bauhaus initiative.

Cross-sectoral cooperation between the audiovisual and other cultural and creative sectors is central to this call. Applications must clearly demonstrate the extent of the cross-sectoral approach, its implementation conditions, and the expected benefits for the sectors involved. Applications should also present strategies to ensure a more sustainable and environmentally respectful industry, as well as gender balance, inclusion, diversity, and representativeness.

A wide range of organizations are invited to participate, including private and public entities, tech companies, start-ups, and audiovisual, cultural, and creative organizations. The participation of business incubators and accelerators is encouraged to foster the shaping of creative ideas.

The following activities are ineligible for funding:

Multimedia art projects and installations.
Immersive tours, events, music videos, and immersive experiences used in retail.
Works of a promotional nature, including promotional campaigns or advertising for specific destinations, products, brands, or institutional productions promoting specific organizations or their activities.
Reference works (encyclopedias, atlases, catalogues, databases, etc.), "how-to" works (instructional guides, manuals, etc.), and interactive e-books.
Projects focusing on live recordings, TV games, talk shows, cooking shows, magazines, TV shows, news, media literacy, reality shows, educational, teaching, and "how to" programs.
Documentaries promoting tourism, "making-of" content, reports, animal reportages, news programs, and "docu-soaps."
Projects including pornographic or racist material or advocating violence.
E-learning platforms.
Costs related to content production/development and the organization of cultural events.

Financial support to third parties is allowed for grants.

Regarding conditions, the proposal page limit and layout are described in the call document and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. Eligible countries and other eligible conditions, as well as financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria, are detailed in the call document. The submission and evaluation processes, award criteria, scoring, thresholds, and the legal and financial setup of the grants are also described in the call document.

The indicative timeline includes:

Publication of the call: October 21, 2025.
Deadline for submitting applications: April 23, 2026, 17:00 (Brussels time).
Evaluation period: May-September 2026.
Information to applicants: October 2026.
Signature of grant agreement: January 2027.

The call document and annexes include:

Call document
Application form templates (Standard application form (CREA MEDIA) available in the Submission System)
Information on independence and ownership control (CREA MEDIA)
Model Grant Agreements (MGA) (CREA MGA)
CREA Annual Work Programmes
CREA Regulation 2021/818
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

The total budget for the CREA-CROSS-2026-INNOVLAB - CREA-PJG CREA Project Grants is 7,021,561 EUR for the year 2026. The call follows a single-stage submission process, with the opening date on October 23, 2025, and the deadline on April 23, 2026.

Partner search announcements are available for LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants to publish partner requests.

Applicants are advised to carefully check the relevance and eligibility of their application with their domestic Creative Europe Desk before submitting. For help related to this call, contact the CREATIVE EUROPE DESK or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency at EACEA-CROSS-INNOVLAB@ec.europa.eu. Additional support is available through the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, the IT Helpdesk, and the Online Manual.

In summary, this Creative Innovation Lab call is designed to stimulate innovation and cross-sectoral collaboration between the audiovisual sector and the music, book, and museum sectors. It aims to foster the development of innovative tools and solutions that address environmental transition, improve competitiveness, and enhance the reach and diversity of European content in the digital age, including the adaptation to AI and virtual worlds. The call encourages a wide range of organizations to participate, with a focus on projects that demonstrate a clear cross-sectoral approach and contribute to a more sustainable, inclusive, and representative industry.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call is open to a wide spectrum of organisations, including private and public entities, tech companies and start-ups, audiovisual, cultural and creative organisations. The participation of business incubators and accelerators shall be encouraged.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically CREA Project Grants (CREA-PJG). Financial support to third parties is allowed for grants.

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the emphasis on cross-sectoral cooperation suggests that a consortium is preferred or even required. The call encourages cooperation between the audiovisual sector and the music, book, or museum sectors.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The eligible countries are described in the call document, but the specific countries are not listed in the provided text. It is implied that the call is targeted towards European entities, given the focus on European content and the Creative Europe Programme.

Target Sector: The program targets the audiovisual sector (compulsory) and at least one of the following sectors: music, books, or museums. It also encompasses technology sectors like AI, big data, blockchain, Virtual Worlds, and NFT. The call aims to improve competitiveness, environmental transition, and adaptation to Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Worlds within these sectors.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the call is part of the Creative Europe Programme, suggesting a focus on European countries.

Project Stage: The call supports the design, development, and/or spread of innovative tools, models, or solutions. This suggests projects in the development, validation, or demonstration stages.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the topic CREA-CROSS-2026-INNOVLAB is EUR 7,021,561. The indicative number of grants is not specified in the provided text.

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 grants. Financial support to third parties is allowed for grants.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

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

Co-funding Requirement: The provided text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

The Creative Innovation Lab (CREA-CROSS-2026-INNOVLAB) is a call for proposals under the Creative Europe Programme, aimed at fostering innovation and cross-sectoral cooperation between the audiovisual sector and the music, book, and museum sectors. The call supports the design, development, and spread of innovative tools, models, or solutions that address key challenges and opportunities in these sectors, including environmental transition, competitiveness, and adaptation to new technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Worlds.

The call encourages projects that focus on Virtual Worlds, innovative business tools enabled by new technologies, and "greener" practices. Cross-sectoral cooperation is a central theme, and applications must demonstrate the extent of this approach and its expected benefits. A wide range of organisations are eligible, including private and public entities, tech companies, start-ups, and cultural organisations.

The call has a total budget of EUR 7,021,561 and follows a single-stage application process. The call opened on October 21, 2025, and the deadline for submitting applications is April 23, 2026. The evaluation period will take place from May to September 2026, with information to applicants in October 2026 and the signature of grant agreements in January 2027.

Ineligible activities include multimedia art projects and installations, immersive tours in retail, promotional works, reference works, projects focusing on certain TV formats, documentaries promoting tourism, projects including pornographic or racist material, and E-learning platforms. Costs related to content production/development and the organisation of cultural events are also ineligible.

Applicants are advised to check the relevance and eligibility of their application with their domestic Creative Europe Desk before submitting. The application form and other relevant documents are available in the Submission System.