Public procurement of innovative solutions for improving citizens' access to healthcare through integrated or personalised approaches

This summary outlines the Horizon Europe grant opportunity titled "HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-CARE-01," which focuses on improving citizens' access to healthcare through public procurement of innovative solutions. The call is structured to support consortia of healthcare procurers, which can include public and private healthcare providers, health authorities, and associated institutions from EU member states and other participating countries, including eligible entities from the United States.

The funding mechanism is a grant specifically designated for Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI), with a total budget of €24.5 million for the initiative. Each project is expected to secure funding between €3 million and €8 million, with around four projects anticipated to be funded. The application process is a single-stage submission opening on February 10, 2026, and closing on April 16, 2026.

The eligible projects should target the deployment of innovative healthcare solutions that enhance integrated care and personalized medicine. The focus is on already-developed technologies, including digital health solutions and artificial intelligence applications, tailored to specific patient populations, including children, older adults, and individuals with chronic or complex health conditions.

Proposals must demonstrate collaboration among the participating procurers, showcasing a shared understanding of unmet healthcare needs. While co-funding is not explicitly mandated, evidence of budget contributions from involved healthcare organizations is expected to enhance proposal competitiveness. The expectation is for initiatives to improve healthcare accessibility, coordination, and resilience while fostering economic growth and innovation within European health systems.

The opportunity emphasizes engagement with policymakers and synergies with existing EU health initiatives. Successful proposals should exhibit detailed plans, quantitative and qualitative outcomes, and mechanisms to address specific healthcare challenges while ensuring integration within existing systems.

Overall, the initiative presents a strategic framework for healthcare procurers to collectively enhance service delivery, promote technological advancements, and ultimately improve health outcomes for European citizens.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-CARE-01, focused on Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI) to improve citizens' access to healthcare through integrated or personalised approaches. It falls under Cluster 1 Health of the Horizon Europe program. The type of action is HORIZON-PPI, which stands for Horizon Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) type is HORIZON Action Grant Budget Based [HORIZON-AG]. It is a forthcoming call with a single stage submission process. The planned opening date is 10 February 2026, and the deadline for submission is 16 April 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The call aims to support activities that contribute to ensuring equal access to innovative, sustainable, and high-quality healthcare. The expected outcomes include:

Patients and carers, health authorities, and health professionals benefiting from innovative solutions designed around actual clinical needs. These solutions should facilitate identification, integration, or coordination of care, making it more personalised, accessible, inclusive, and of higher quality.

Patients benefiting from personalised approaches, improved care experiences, and health outcomes, becoming more engaged in their care and better equipped to make informed decisions in collaboration with health professionals.

Health professionals being better equipped with improved means for diagnosis, care delivery, and coordination, using multi-disciplinary approaches and closer patient engagement through new technologies.

Health systems improving their accessibility, coordination mechanisms, effectiveness, inclusivity, and resilience through innovative solutions, leading to better resource use, organizational innovation, cultural transformation within hospitals, and European-level collaboration.

The scope of the call emphasizes that PPI can boost the market uptake of high-impact innovations in health systems, enhance tools for providers, and improve citizen access to healthcare. This supports social rights and European economic competitiveness by creating business opportunities and incentives to innovate. Joint/collaborative demand-driven initiatives can create economies of scale and facilitate wider adoption of innovations in the health sector.

PPI actions target consortia of procurers with similar needs who want to jointly procure the deployment of innovative solutions for integrated care or diagnostics for personalised medicine. The call does not directly fund developers, industry, or research organizations for R&D; instead, they can respond to tenders launched by the funded procurer consortia.

Proposals should specify the target patient population, the organizational and/or technological innovations to be procured, and why the proposed solutions are fit for purpose, adhering to integrated care or personalised medicine principles.

Examples of target groups include:

Patients at risk of vulnerability (children, older/frail people with complex needs).

People with multi-morbidities or non-communicable diseases.

People with physical and mental health conditions.

People living with rare diseases or cancer.

Persons with disabilities.

Other groups needing highly integrated and coordinated care.

Proposals should address gender and intersectional factors affecting healthcare access and outcomes.

Proposals must demonstrate contribution to expected outcomes with qualitative and quantitative indicators, describe the application of integrated care and personalised medicine principles, embed innovation in existing health systems, address gaps, avoid overlaps, and foster change management.

Envisaged solutions include digital solutions (including AI) to facilitate integrated care across various settings (hospitals, primary care, LTC facilities, home settings) or technologies improving routine diagnosis for personalised medicine.

Actions should target the first deployment of innovative solutions across European health jurisdictions, engaging public and/or private procurers with deployment responsibilities and budget control. Procurers will specify, purchase, and deploy solutions addressing shared unmet needs through supply and demand-side dialogue. Proposals should be based on user needs and structured deployment plans, explaining how procurement contributes to expected outcomes and improves current practice. Cost-effectiveness analyses and estimates of wider economic impact are highly desirable.

Activities should include cooperation with policymakers to reinforce policy frameworks, raise awareness, provide technical assistance, build capacity, mainstream PPI implementation, and remove market obstacles.

Relevant settings include primary healthcare, hospitals, specialized centers, long-term care facilities, and home settings. End-user involvement and cross-sectorial approaches are necessary. Linkage with national efforts for the European Health Data Space (EHDS) implementation is encouraged. Proposals can consider data, expertise, and services from European research infrastructures in the health domain.

Transfer and adaptation of solutions from other sectors are possible. The call is open to innovations based on specific solution/technology fields or end-to-end solutions combining different innovative elements. Synergies with ongoing EU-funded initiatives like JADECARE, Xt-EHR, MyHealth@Myhands, European Partnerships on Transforming Health and Care Systems, Personalised Medicine, Rare Diseases, the Technical Support Instrument, and Cohesion Policy Funds are strongly encouraged.

Admissibility conditions are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout are described in Part B of the Application Form in the Submission System. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. US entities are eligible for Union funding. Projects using satellite data must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Specific PCP/PPI conditions in section H of the General Annexes apply. Restrictions for European communication networks apply. Other eligibility conditions are in Annex B.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C. Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is in Annex F.

Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (grants only, max EUR 60 000 per party). Specific conditions are in General Annex H. PPI procurement costs are eligible. The granting authority may object to ownership transfer or exclusive licensing of results for up to 4 years after the action's end. Legal and financial setup is described in Annex G. Specific conditions are in the Work Programme topic.

Application and evaluation form templates include the standard application form (HE PPI) and the standard evaluation form (HE PCP PPI). Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide and Model Grant Agreement (MGA). Call-specific instructions and information on financial support to third parties are available. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 (General Introduction, Health, General Annexes), HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, the decision authorizing lump sum contributions, rules for legal entity validation, LEAR appointment, financial capacity assessment, the EU Grants AGA, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statement.

The total budget for the HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-CARE-01 topic is EUR 24 500 000. The opening date is planned for 10 February 2026, with a deadline of 16 April 2026. The estimated contribution per project ranges from EUR 3 000 000 to EUR 8 000 000, and the indicative number of grants to be awarded is 4.

This funding opportunity is designed to foster the adoption of innovative healthcare solutions across Europe by supporting public and private procurers in acquiring and deploying cutting-edge technologies and approaches. It emphasizes collaboration, integration, and personalized medicine to improve patient outcomes and healthcare system efficiency. The focus is on enabling healthcare providers to access and implement innovative solutions that address specific needs within their communities, ultimately leading to more accessible, equitable, and high-quality healthcare for all European citizens. The program encourages projects that not only demonstrate technological advancements but also address policy frameworks, stakeholder engagement, and sustainable implementation strategies.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types for this opportunity are consortia of procurers, including public and/or private procurers at national, regional, or local level, that have deployment responsibilities and budget control in the provision of health and care services. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are also mentioned as beneficiaries of the wider market uptake of innovations. Legal entities established in the United States of America are also eligible to receive Union funding.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (HORIZON-PPI). This mechanism supports the public procurement of innovative solutions in healthcare. Beneficiaries may also provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, up to EUR 60,000 per third party.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. Specifically, it targets consortia of procurers with a similar need who want to procure together the deployment of innovative solutions.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes countries participating in Horizon Europe. This encompasses EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries that have made specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects. In addition, any legal entity established in the United States of America is eligible to receive Union funding.

Target Sector: The target sector is health, with a focus on improving citizens' access to healthcare through integrated or personalised approaches. This includes digital health solutions, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare, integrated care, and personalised medicine.

Mentioned Countries: The United States of America is explicitly mentioned as having eligible legal entities. The primary geographic focus is Europe, encompassing EU member states and associated countries participating in the Horizon Europe program.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on first deployment of innovative solutions. The actions should target the first deployment of innovative solutions across different health and care jurisdictions in Europe. This suggests a maturity level around demonstration and early commercialization.

Funding Amount: The budget for the topic HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-CARE-01 is EUR 24,500,000, and the expected contribution per project is between EUR 3,000,000 and EUR 8,000,000. The indicative number of grants to be awarded is 4.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage open call within the Horizon Europe framework.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to fund the public procurement of innovative solutions. Beneficiaries may also provide financial support to third parties to ensure the deployment and impact of the project outcomes, up to EUR 60,000 per third party.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: Based on the information provided, the success rates are other. The indicative number of grants is 4, but the total number of applications is not provided.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. As a Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI) action, the funding primarily covers the costs of procuring innovative solutions, implying that the procurers are expected to have budget control and deployment responsibilities.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe funding opportunity, HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-CARE-01, aims to improve access to innovative, sustainable, and high-quality healthcare in Europe through Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI). The program targets consortia of public and/or private procurers from European countries who are looking to deploy innovative solutions for integrated care and personalised medicine. The funding, ranging from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 8,000,000 per project, supports the procurement and first deployment of solutions, particularly digital and AI-driven technologies, in settings like hospitals, primary care, and long-term care facilities. The goal is to enhance healthcare accessibility, coordination, effectiveness, and resilience, while also fostering economic competitiveness and the wider adoption of innovative healthcare solutions. This is a single-stage application process with a deadline of April 16, 2026, and it encourages collaboration with policymakers and synergies with existing EU-funded initiatives. Legal entities from the United States of America are also eligible for funding.