Research Support Framework for Situational Awareness on information integrity

Research Support Framework for Situational Awareness on Information Integrity DIGITAL-2026 is a Digital Europe call to establish a shared research infrastructure and tools to support advanced research and analysis of information integrity, including work on disinformation, AI-generated content and platform data access. The topic has an indicative budget of €6,000,000 with recommended project requests of €5,000,000–6,000,000 and an expected duration of 24–30 months. Eligible applicants are multi-beneficiary consortia with a minimum of four independent legal entities from four different eligible countries (EU Member States or countries associated to the programme). Proposals must allocate at least 60% of their budget to financial support to third parties (FSTP), with individual sub-grants capped at €300,000, and must be submitted via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by 1 October 2026, 17:00 Brussels time.

Research Support Framework for Situational Awareness on information integrity

What the grant funds

Scope in one line

Establish a common research framework and technological backbone to accelerate and scale advanced research and analysis on information integrity across the EU, including infrastructure (hardware and software), dedicated research tools, open access mechanisms, activity to inform the DSA data access regime, and a sub-granting scheme for third-party tools and research projects.

Funding window and deadline:Call opening 21 April 2026; single-stage deadline 1 October 2026 17:00 Brussels time. Project duration expected 24–30 months. ¹

1. 1Who can apply: multi-beneficiary consortia only; minimum four independent beneficiaries from four different eligible countries (EU Member States or countries associated to Digital Europe).
2. 2Core requirements: proposals must cover all specific objectives (infrastructure, tools, access mechanisms, DSA-related engagement, and a grant-to-third-parties mechanism) and include a needs analysis, sustainability plan and KPIs.
3. 3Third-party funding: at least 60% of the project budget must be allocated to financial support to third parties (FSTP) delivered via a fair, transparent selection process.
4. 4Eligible activities supported by sub-grants: development or scaling of research tools/capabilities and research projects using the consortium outputs (max per third party normally set in call conditions).

Applications must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using the DEP application templates. Proposals will be evaluated against relevance, implementation and impact award criteria with individual thresholds and an overall pass score. Grants follow the DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based model and include standard reporting, audit and ethics/security requirements.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call document, conditions and submission details: Call page.

Research Support Framework for Situational Awareness on information integrity (DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-RSF-10-AWARENESS)

Opportunity summary

Call type: Call for Proposals under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) – Accelerating the Best Use of Technologies. Topic identifier: DIGITAL-2026. Opening date: 21 April 2026. Submission deadline: 1 October 2026, 17:00 Brussels time. Single-stage, single-step evaluation. Indicative total topic budget: €6,000,000. Project duration for awarded proposals: between 24 and 30 months. This action is a Grant for Financial Support with the specific form Grants for Financial Support (DIGITAL-GFS) and a DIGITAL Action Grant budget-based (DIGITAL-AG) Model Grant Agreement. The awarded consortium will both implement direct activities and distribute at least 60% of the awarded budget as financial support to third parties (FSTP). The call aims to create a common research framework and technological backbone to enable advanced research and situational awareness on information integrity across the EU and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme ¹.

Expected high-level outcomes:The main outcomes are: the technical solutions created or supported; research insights generated from supported research and monitoring projects; proof of concept and lessons learnt on shared research infrastructures for the information environment; and a prototype of a sustainable technological backbone for information integrity research with demonstrable potential for future scaling.

Scope, objectives and required deliverables

Overarching objective: Creating a common research framework with the necessary infrastructure to enable advanced research and analysis on information integrity in the EU. The action is structured around five specific objectives that the proposal must cover: securing or setting up infrastructure (hardware and software) accessible to third parties across the EU; supporting, acquiring or creating dedicated tools for research on information manipulation; making tools and computational capacity accessible via a transparent access mechanism and promoting uptake; contributing to implementation and improvement of DSA data access APIs by collecting researcher input, documenting best practices and shortcomings and representing research community views; and establishing and implementing a grant structure to distribute funds to third parties (FSTP) to support eligible tools/capabilities and research projects that leverage outputs under the other specific objectives.

1. 1Proposals must allocate at least 60% of their proposed budget to financial support to third parties (FSTP).
2. 2Consortia must propose a fair, transparent, non-discriminatory sub-granting methodology and selection process for FSTP, including calls that remain open at least two months and publish results on participants’ websites and the EU Portal.
3. 3Proposals must be based on a clear, evidence-informed needs analysis centered on demands from the research and civil society communities; quality and impact are preferred over breadth.
4. 4Long-term sustainability, transferability and interoperability of outputs are essential evaluation considerations.
5. 5Proposals must present KPIs appropriate to their activities (examples provided in call documentation).

Deliverables required at minimum

1. 1A suite or network of solutions capable of addressing Specific Objectives 1 and 2 (technological infrastructure and dedicated tools).
2. 2A methodology and dissemination plan for creating access to the created resources (transparent access and onboarding processes for researchers and civil society).
3. 3A sub-granting methodology (FSTP): selection criteria, award amounts and fair procedures aligned with the call conditions.
4. 4A final report detailing lessons learnt and identifying clear paths for future actions and scaling.

Detailed categorization (answers to required questions)

Eligible Applicant Types:Eligible applicants are legal entities (public or private bodies) established in eligible countries (EU Member States and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme). Typical eligible applicant types expected and appropriate by the call: universities and research institutes, civil society organisations and NGOs, fact-checking organisations, SMEs (including technology providers), large enterprises (technology providers or infrastructure operators), public research bodies, public authorities (where allowed), networks and consortia of the above. Associated partners, subcontractors and third parties giving in-kind contributions may also participate but have specific roles and cost eligibility. Natural persons are not eligible except self-employed persons where the company has no separate legal personality. International organisations are eligible only if they qualify as International Organisations of European Interest per the Digital Europe Regulation. The call requires multi-beneficiary applications and a minimum consortium of four independent beneficiaries from four different eligible countries.

Funding Type:Primary financial mechanism: Grant. More precisely, Grants for Financial Support (DIGITAL-GFS) under the Digital Europe Programme. The grant awarded is budget-based (mixed actual costs with unit cost and flat-rate elements possible). The consortium will receive the grant and must re-distribute a majority (at least 60%) of the budget to third parties through competitive sub-grant calls.

Consortium Requirement:Consortium required. The call mandates multi-beneficiary applications with a minimum of four independent beneficiaries from four different eligible countries. Proposals must explain consortium composition, roles, responsibilities and ensure geographic balance and a diversity of perspectives and expertise. A consortium agreement is recommended and may be mandatory as specified in the call data.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Eligible geographic scope is the European Union and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme. Organisations from non-eligible third countries may participate only as associated partners, subcontractors or third parties giving in-kind contributions and must bear their own costs. The consortium should strive for geographical balance among EU Member States and associated countries; the FSTP distribution should also aim for broad geographic coverage.

Target Sector:Primary targeted thematic sector: information integrity, media and online information environment research. Secondary technical sectors include ICT (data engineering, APIs, software tools), artificial intelligence (AI detection and analysis tools), data infrastructure (computational capacity, storage and archiving), cybersecurity for secure data handling, and research support services. Stakeholders targeted: research organisations, civil society, fact-checkers, technology providers and platform transparency practitioners.

Mentioned Countries:The call text explicitly references the European Union (EU) and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme. No specific Member States are named in the call text; eligible countries are EU Member States and associated countries as listed in the programme participation documentation.

Project Stage (expected maturity):Expected project maturity: from development/validation to demonstration and prototype/sustainable backbone creation. Proposed work should include implementation-ready activities (setting up or securing infrastructure, acquiring or developing tools), access mechanisms, and grant schemes that enable third-party research projects and tool-building. Projects may build on existing initiatives but should show readiness to implement within the project duration (24–30 months).

Funding Amount:Topic-level indicative budget: €6,000,000. At project level the call document indicates eligible projects should request between €5,000,000 and €6,000,000. The awarded grant may be lower than the amount requested. Proposals must allocate at least 60% of their proposed budget to financial support to third parties (FSTP). Maximum per third party sub-grant: normally €60,000, but for this call the maximum per third party set in the call is €300,000 due to the nature of actions (as specified in the legal and budget sections).

Application Type:Application method: Open Call (single-stage) submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Submission System. Applicants must register organisations in the Participant Register and submit Part A (online) and Part B (uploaded PDF using the DEP template) and required annexes through the Portal. The submission system opens on the planned opening date; late or paper submissions are not accepted.

Nature of Support:Beneficiaries will receive monetary support (grant funding) to cover consortium activities and to distribute financial support to third parties. Non-monetary support includes access to shared infrastructure, tools, training, capacity building, dissemination and community engagement. The grant reimburses eligible costs (actual costs, unit costs and flat-rate elements where applicable) and funds FSTP through sub-grant calls.

Application Stages:Number of stages for applicants: 1 (single-stage submission). Evaluation and award process includes eligibility and admissibility checks, technical evaluation by independent experts, panel ranking and possible invitation to grant preparation where legal and financial checks are performed. There is no separate pre-proposal or two-stage evaluation step for this topic.

Success Rates:Success rates are not explicitly published for this specific call. Given the single-project indicative number of grants is limited (topic budget €6,000,000 and expected single award per topic depending on proposals), competition is expected to be strong. The call reserves the right not to award all available funds. Applicants should therefore assume a relatively low success probability and ensure high quality, feasibility, and alignment with evaluation criteria.

Co-funding Requirement:This action is funded at 100% for consortium activities under the Digital Europe funding rules. However, third parties receiving FSTP are expected to co-finance 50% of their supported activity costs where the programme rules require co-financing; the call clarifies that the overall action is co-funded at 100% for consortium activities while the supported third parties themselves must provide co-financing consistent with programme rules (check Annex and call conditions). The proposal must demonstrate cost-effectiveness and may include other sources of funding or in-kind contributions; affiliated partners and associated partners bearing their own costs is permitted. Confirm co-funding specifics in the call document at grant preparation stage.

Consortium composition and eligibility requirements:Minimum consortium composition: at least four independent beneficiaries from four different eligible countries. Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must be legal persons and registered in the Participant Register. Natural persons are not eligible (except self-employed where company has no separate legal personality). EU bodies (except JRC) cannot be beneficiaries. Proposals must include Part A and Part B, mandatory annexes (detailed budget table, list of previous projects) and any templates required. Affiliates must be validated and documentation on affiliation provided. EU restrictive measures and conditionality rules apply: entities under EU sanctions or conditionality restrictions are ineligible for any role, including as recipients of FSTP. Further details are provided in call document Section 6.

Evaluation, award criteria and timeline

Evaluation procedure: one-stage single-step evaluation. Proposals will be checked for admissibility, eligibility, financial and operational capacity, and then assessed by independent experts against award criteria: Relevance, Implementation and Impact. Individual thresholds: minimum 3/5 per criterion and overall threshold 10/15. Ranking and tie-breaking rules apply as described in the call document. Evaluations will be followed by legal entity validation and financial capacity checks before invitation to grant preparation.

Budget, eligible costs and financial arrangements

Topic budget: €6,000,000. Recommended requested project budget range: between €5,000,000 and €6,000,000. The grant is budget-based mixed actual cost funding. Eligible cost categories include personnel, subcontracting, purchases (travel and subsistence, equipment, other goods/services), financial support to third parties (D.1), internally invoiced goods/services (D.2) and indirect costs at a flat-rate of 7% of eligible direct costs (A-D). Equipment costs: depreciation is the default reimbursement method; for this topic call provides exceptional rules allowing depreciation and full-cost reimbursement for listed equipment and computing infrastructure, with specific conditions set out in the call and the MGA. VAT non-deductible is eligible except where national rules exclude it. The grant may not produce a profit; for-profit entities must declare revenues and any profit will be deducted from final grant amount.

Financial support to third parties (FSTP) – key rules:FSTP is allowed and must follow strict transparency, equal treatment, conflict of interest and confidentiality rules. Calls for third parties must be open and published widely (Portal and participant websites), remain open for at least two months, and results must be published with beneficiary names, award dates, durations and countries. The proposal must justify the need for FSTP, define eligible activities for third-party funding (two main lines: tools/capabilities addressing objectives 1–2, and research projects leveraging outputs from objectives 1–2 and 4), set maximum per recipient (this call allows up to €300,000 per third party), and describe selection criteria and procedures to ensure fairness, geographic balance and strategic coherence with the consortium outputs.

Application forms, templates and annexes

Applications must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal using the standard DEP application form: Part A (online administrative data) and Part B (technical description uploaded as PDF using the DEP template). Mandatory annexes include the detailed budget table/calculator (Annex 2), list of previous projects (last 4 years) and any call-specific annexes. Application Part B is limited to 70 pages. Proposal preparation should follow the DEP template structure (project summary; relevance; implementation; impact; workplan; ethics and security; declarations; annexes). Templates and the Model Grant Agreement (DEP MGA) are available in the Portal Reference Documents. Applicants should not edit the DEP template tags and must respect formatting rules (A4, Arial 9 minimum font, margins).

1. 1Application Part A: online submission of administrative data and budget summary.
2. 2Application Part B: technical proposal uploaded as PDF using DEP template (max 70 pages).
3. 3Annexes: detailed budget table, list of previous projects, consortium agreement (recommended), any call-specific annexes listed in the Portal.

Evaluation criteria summary

Individual thresholds: minimum 3/5 per criterion. Overall pass threshold: minimum 10/15. Proposals passing thresholds will be ranked and considered for funding within available budget. Tie-breaking rules give priority to proposals that cover themes not otherwise covered, then to higher Relevance scores, then Impact and Implementation, and finally portfolio balance considerations.

Ethics, security and data protection

Proposals must comply with the highest ethical standards and applicable EU, international and national law, including GDPR. Ethics review will be required and may result in ethics conditions in the Grant Agreement. Projects involving AI systems will be examined for compliance with AI ethical principles and technical robustness. Security rules apply for sensitive and EU classified information; actions involving EU classified information require facility security clearances and follow Decision 2015/444 and implementing rules. Data protection obligations apply to data collected and processed under the action; beneficiaries must ensure lawful, secure and proportionate processing and adherence to Portal Privacy Statement.

Risk areas and practical recommendations

1. 1Ensure the needs analysis is evidence-based and clearly linked to proposed activities and FSTP strategy; evaluators weigh logical coherence between needs, activities and budget.
2. 2Plan for at least 60% of budget as FSTP and design robust, transparent FSTP calls and selection criteria; prepare public call templates and evaluation rubrics.
3. 3Address sustainability and transferability: show how outputs and access mechanisms will be maintained beyond project life and how interoperability will be ensured.
4. 4Include clear access and onboarding procedures for researchers and civil society, with non-discriminatory eligibility criteria and security/privacy safeguards aligned with DSA data access requirements.
5. 5Detail use of European providers and infrastructures (e.g. EuroHPC, European AI Factories) where relevant, and justify equipment full-cost requests if applicable.

Practical note: attend the information session scheduled for 28 April 2026 (15:00–16:30 CEST) if possible and consult materials published on the CNECT web-page and Portal Q&A. Use the DEP Application Form templates available in the Submission System and ensure all participants are registered and validated in the Participant Register before submission.

How to apply — key steps

1. 1Register organisations and obtain PICs via the Participant Register and EU Login.
2. 2Prepare Part A (online) with administrative details and Part B using DEP template (max 70 pages) and required annexes.
3. 3Ensure consortium meets minimum eligibility (at least four independent beneficiaries from four eligible countries) and upload legal documents needed for validation.
4. 4Submit the complete proposal via the Funding & Tenders Portal before the deadline (1 October 2026, 17:00 Brussels time).
5. 5If shortlisted, prepare to provide supporting documents for legal entity validation, financial capacity and the prefinancing guarantee (if required) during grant preparation.

Contact and help: use the Funding & Tenders Portal Helpdesk for IT issues, the Online Manual for submission guidance, and the call-specific contact address provided on the topic page for content-related questions. Read the Call document, Model Grant Agreement (DEP MGA) and Portal Reference Documents thoroughly before finalising the proposal.

Summary: This call funds the establishment of a Research Support Framework for situational awareness on information integrity, combining technical infrastructure, tools and substantial sub-granted support to third parties to scale and accelerate EU research and civil society analysis of information manipulation. Strong proposals will present a focused, evidence-based needs analysis, a feasible plan to implement infrastructure and tools, transparent and well-justified FSTP mechanisms, robust ethics and security safeguards, and a clear sustainability strategy.

Reference: Applicants should consult the full Call Document, the DEP Application Form templates and the DEP Model Grant Agreement for complete legal, financial and procedural details prior to proposal submission ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Call document and annexes for DIGITAL-2026 (Research Support Framework for Situational Awareness on information integrity), Digital Europe Programme, available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and at ec.europa.eu

Research Support Framework for Situational Awareness on Information Integrity

This EU funding opportunity under the Digital Europe Programme DIGITAL-2026 aims to establish a common research framework with infrastructure to enable advanced research and analysis on information integrity across the EU. The call supports scaling research efforts on the information environment, addressing challenges like disinformation, AI-generated content, and manipulative tactics online.

Key Objectives

The overarching objective is to create a shared research infrastructure for information integrity. Specific objectives include: securing hardware and software infrastructure accessible EU-wide; developing tools for analysing information manipulation; ensuring access for researchers and civil society; contributing to DSA data access improvements; and implementing a sub-granting mechanism for third-party tools and research projects.

Expected Outcomes and Deliverables

• Technical solutions created or supported for research infrastructure.
• Insights from supported research and monitoring projects.
• Proof of concept and lessons learned for shared infrastructures.
• Minimum deliverables: suite/network of solutions for Objectives 1-2; access methodology and dissemination plan (Objective 3); sub-granting methodology (Objective 5); final report with lessons learned and future actions.

Funding Details

Total Budget:€6,000,000 for the topic.

Project Budget Range:€5,000,000 to €6,000,000 per project.

Funding Rate:100% for consortium activities. At least 60% of the budget must be allocated to financial support to third parties (FSTP), distributed via transparent sub-granting.

FSTP Limits:Maximum €300,000 per third party. Supports tools/capabilities for Objectives 1-2 and research projects using those outputs.

Eligibility and Consortium Requirements

• Minimum four independent applicants from four different eligible countries (EU Member States, EEA countries, countries associated to Digital Europe Programme).
• Geographical balance and diversity of perspectives/expertise required.
• Legal entities (public/private); natural persons ineligible except self-employed.
• Proposals must be based on evidence-informed needs analysis from research/civil society communities, focusing on quality, impact, and longevity.
• Eligible countries detailed in call document section 6.

Timeline

Information session held on 28 April 2026, 15:00-16:30 CEST. Materials available on CNECT webpage post-session. Register via Information Session Registration.

Evaluation Criteria

• Relevance (max 5 points): Alignment with objectives, policy contribution, needs analysis.
• Implementation (max 5 points): Maturity, plan soundness, applicant capacity.
• Impact (max 5 points): Achievement of outcomes, societal benefits. Note: Certain sub-criteria (e.g. financial obstacles, environmental sustainability) not applicable.
• Minimum thresholds: 3/5 per criterion, 10/15 overall.

Scope and Key Considerations

Proposals must detail achievement of all objectives, with evidence-based needs analysis. Examples of activities (e.g. computational capacity, cross-platform tools, DSA capacity building) are indicative only. Emphasis on quality over quantity, sustainability, longevity, and synergies with EDMO, European Fact-Checking Network, and European Centre for Democratic Resilience. Consortium must ensure non-discriminatory access mechanisms and geographical balance in FSTP.

Submission and Documents

Single-stage submission via EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Proposal page limit: 70 pages (Part B). Required documents: Application Form Parts A/B, detailed budget table, list of previous projects. Full details in call document sections 5-11. Official call fiche: Call Fiche. Portal page: Funding Portal.

Targeted Stakeholders

• Research organisations.
• Civil society organisations.
• Fact-checking organisations.
• Technology providers.

Additional Resources

Model Grant Agreement: DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based. Ethics, security, and IPR rules apply. Contact: Write to Us or Funding & Tenders Portal helpdesk. Online Manual and EU Grants AGA available on Portal.

Footnotes

1. 1All details from official EU Funding & Tenders Portal call page and call fiche (version 1.0, 01/04/2026). Applicants should consult the latest documents and updates.