Scaling up innovation in cardiovascular health

The HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-15 grant opportunity focuses on "Scaling up Innovation in Cardiovascular Health" and is part of the Horizon Europe programme. It involves a Coordination and Support Action with a lump sum grant mechanism, set to open on February 10, 2026, and with a submission deadline of April 16, 2026. The project aims to address cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which are a major health concern in the EU, causing over 1.7 million deaths annually and incurring significant healthcare costs.

Eligible applicants include a wide range of entities such as research organizations, universities, healthcare providers, public authorities, private enterprises, and non-profits. The lead coordinator must be a legal entity established in an EU Member State or Associated Country, with limited participation from US institutions allowed under specific conditions. The initiative encourages diverse consortia that integrate various stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers.

The funding amount is fixed at €1.9 million for one expected grant, emphasizing a single-stage application process without co-funding requirements, although in-kind contributions from partners are encouraged. The funded activities will synthesize existing research, identify gaps in knowledge, and develop a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) focused on CVDs and associated comorbidities like obesity and diabetes. The proposal must outline a comprehensive review of existing healthcare solutions, the barriers to personalized health services, and establish pathways for implementing personalized prevention and care methods.

Key deliverables include enhancing knowledge about CVD prevention and treatment, creating frameworks for personalized healthcare, and promoting cross-sectoral collaboration among various stakeholders. The project aims to align with broader EU initiatives, including the Cardiovascular Health plan, and emphasizes the integration of digital health tools, artificial intelligence, and genomics into the healthcare system.

The application process will be evaluated based on the criteria of excellence, impact, and implementation, with specific scoring thresholds. Overall, the project seeks to improve health outcomes and foster collaborative efforts in cardiovascular health research and innovation, ensuring that findings are relevant and applicable across diverse populations.

This is a Horizon Europe call for proposals under the Cluster 1 Health, specifically targeting "Scaling up innovation in cardiovascular health" with topic ID HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-15. It is a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] mechanism. The call is forthcoming with a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is 10 February 2026, and the deadline is 16 April 2026 at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The topic budget for the year 2026 is EUR 1,900,000, with an indicative grant amount of around EUR 1,900,000, and it is expected that only one grant will be awarded.

The expected outcomes of this topic are:

1.  Improved knowledge base and collaboration among healthcare providers, policymakers, and researchers on cardiovascular health research, leading to a conceptual framework for a research and innovation roadmap.
2.  Health systems gaining improved and standardized evidence for better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and associated comorbidities, based on research results on prediction, early detection, screening practices, and diagnostic methods and tools, including personalized and digital approaches.
3.  Increased knowledge, awareness, and capacity among medical and non-medical health professionals and technology developers to uptake and deliver effective and innovative approaches for risk prediction, early detection, screening, and health management strategies, such as Virtual Human Twins (VHT) or Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based applications. This includes supporting strategic foresight, improving health literacy, and fostering cross-sectoral knowledge exchange and collaboration to drive innovation in personalized prevention and cardiovascular risk prediction.
4.  Improved knowledge base for healthcare providers and policymakers to inform future strategies for early detection and prevention of CVDs, with specific attention to women and vulnerable groups, through research on personalized risk prediction approaches that consider multiple and interacting risk factors (e.g., genetic predisposition, environmental pollutants, diet, lifestyle habits, multimorbidity, sex, and gender).

The scope of the call is as follows:

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death in the EU, resulting in over 1.7 million deaths annually and costing approximately EUR 282 billion, which accounts for 11% of the healthcare budget. Projections indicate that CVD prevalence and mortality will rise by 2050 due to an aging population. In response, the European Commission is developing a comprehensive EU Cardiovascular Health (CVH) plan to assist Member States in reducing the burden of CVDs. This plan is expected to support prevention, early detection, and personalized approaches.

Applicants are expected to assess research and innovation outcomes to identify gaps and create a plan for a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) on CVDs. The ultimate goal is to utilize research and innovation results to enhance risk prediction, early detection, and screening practices for CVDs and related comorbidities, particularly obesity and diabetes, throughout the EU and Associated Countries. This initiative aims to translate existing innovations and promising research results into practical protocols that improve prevention, diagnosis, and health outcomes for diverse populations. By encouraging collaboration and integrating digital tools and methods, proposals will contribute to the future EU CVH plan, aligning with ongoing activities such as the European VHT Initiative, the 1+Million Genomes Initiative, Tech Foresight/Horizon scanning activities, and actions funded under the EU4Health Programme (2021-2027) and the Digital Europe Programme.

The proposals should include the following activities:

1.  Conduct a comprehensive review at national, EU, and international levels of existing cardiovascular research and innovative healthcare solutions, potentially linked with associated comorbidities, to identify gaps and areas where future integration into health systems can have the greatest impact. The mapping should build upon existing EU-level reviews and pay particular attention to sex- and gender-related gaps, including under-representation in studies and differences in risk, diagnosis, and treatment. Such insights will inform subsequent policy actions and implementation initiatives under other funding programmes.
2.  Create a detailed report outlining the barriers to effective personalised prediction, screening and prevention in cardiovascular health, providing recommendations to overcome these challenges.
3.  Develop a SRIA on CVDs and associated comorbidities aiming to improve personalised prevention, prediction and screening and to inform research funders and stakeholders, including relevant EU and national initiatives. The agenda will include stakeholder validation and adoption pathways.
4.  Support the development of personalised prevention and care pathways and the role of digital interventions, based on genomics, VHTs and AI-driven methods in line with the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation, to enhance precision in early detection and health management. Where applicable, the mapping of existing practices such as biomarkers for diagnosis, monitoring in patients, and stratification of patient groups should be considered.
5.  Integrate sex and gender-related variables, age, racial or ethnic origin, socio-economic, lifestyle and behavioural factors, genetic predisposition into research design, data collection and analysis, to ensure inclusive and generalisable findings enhancing the effectiveness of screening, diagnostic, and prevention strategies across diverse population groups.
6.  Organise high-impact, targeted events with clear objectives to promote a multi-sectorial approach, fostering collaboration among healthcare providers, researchers, civil society, patients' organisations, and policymakers.
7.  Work with health experts to develop the capacities for implementing standardised screening protocols and methods.
8.  Develop a comprehensive dissemination strategy and stakeholder engagement plan to share findings and promote the results, utilising online platforms and social media to reach a broad audience. Complement with long-term engagement mechanisms such as policy briefings or partnerships with EU-level dissemination networks.

Applicants must ensure adequate involvement across the project lifespan of all relevant stakeholders and value chain actors, including industry, healthcare professionals, scientists, and patients’ associations, to ensure performance and sustainability and maximize the final impact.

The topic requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts and institutions to meaningfully enhance the societal impact of the related research activities.

The admissibility conditions, proposal page limit, and layout 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 available in the Submission System.

Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

In recognition of the opening of the US National Institutes of Health’s programmes to European researchers, legal entities established in the United States of America may exceptionally participate as a beneficiary or affiliated entity, and are eligible to receive Union funding.

Coordinators of projects must be legal entities established in an EU Member State or Associated Country.

If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).

Other eligibility conditions are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. The thresholds for each criterion will be 4 (Excellence), 4 (Impact) and 4 (Implementation). The cumulative threshold will be 12.

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 are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025).

Legal and financial set-up of the grants are described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation form templates include the standard application form (HE CSA), which is available in the Submission System, and the standard evaluation form (HE CSA), which will be used with the necessary adaptations.

Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreement (MGA), Lump Sum MGA, call-specific instructions, detailed budget table (HE LS), and guidance on "Lump sums - what do I need to know?".

Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 (General Introduction, Health, and General Annexes), HE Programme Guide, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, 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 — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

This funding opportunity is designed to coordinate and support actions aimed at tackling cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and reducing their burden in the EU. It seeks to improve the knowledge base, foster collaboration, and develop a strategic research agenda to enhance prevention, early detection, and treatment of CVDs and associated conditions. The initiative encourages the integration of digital tools, personalized approaches, and consideration of various risk factors to improve health outcomes across diverse populations. The ultimate goal is to support the development and implementation of the EU Cardiovascular Health (CVH) plan.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include industry, healthcare professionals, scientists, patients’ associations, civil society, policymakers, research funders, technology developers, and experts and institutions in social sciences and humanities (SSH). Coordinators of projects must be legal entities established in an EU Member State or Associated Country. Legal entities established in the United States of America may exceptionally participate as a beneficiary or affiliated entity, and are eligible to receive Union funding.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. The applicants should ensure adequate involvement across the project lifespan of all relevant stakeholders and value chain actors.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States, Associated Countries, and, under specific conditions, the United States of America. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The program targets the health sector, specifically cardiovascular health (CVH), personalized medicine, digital health, artificial intelligence (AI), genomics, and related comorbidities such as obesity and diabetes. It also requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines.

Mentioned Countries: European Union member states, Associated Countries, and the United States of America.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on coordination and support actions, which implies activities that support research and innovation, such as networking, coordination, strategic foresight, dissemination, and stakeholder engagement. The projects should take stock of research and innovation results to identify gaps and set up a plan for a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) on CVDs.

Funding Amount: The budget for the HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-15 topic is EUR 1,900,000. The indicative number of grants is 1.

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 lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: Success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants (1) compared to the broad eligibility suggests a competitive process.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is not explicitly mentioned as a requirement.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-15, aims to scale up innovation in cardiovascular health by funding coordination and support actions. The goal is to improve the knowledge base, collaboration, and evidence-based practices related to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and associated comorbidities across the EU and Associated Countries. The call encourages proposals that conduct comprehensive reviews of existing research, identify gaps, develop a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), support personalized prevention and care pathways, integrate diverse variables into research design, and promote multi-sectoral collaboration. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, and the application process involves a single stage. Eligible applicants include a wide range of stakeholders, such as healthcare providers, researchers, industry representatives, and policymakers, with coordinators required to be based in an EU Member State or Associated Country. The initiative aligns with the EU's broader Cardiovascular Health (CVH) plan and aims to reduce the burden of CVDs through prevention, early detection, and personalized approaches.