Sustained collaboration of national and regional cancer funders to support the Cancer Mission through translational research

The grant opportunity HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-01, titled "Sustained collaboration of national and regional cancer funders to support the Cancer Mission through translational research," is part of the Horizon Europe program, specifically under the call for the implementation of the Cancer Mission. This call pertains to HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) and uses a lump sum grant structure.

Eligible applicants include national and regional cancer funding agencies, public research institutions, and public-private partnerships across various regions of Europe, including Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern, and Western Europe. The aim is to foster transnational cooperation among these funders.

The geographic scope for beneficiaries includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. The grant explicitly targets efforts to enhance collaboration among funders in translational cancer research, aligning with strategic research and innovation agendas.

The project focuses on translational cancer research and seeks to issue at least four joint transnational calls for proposals that will generate collaborative grants to third parties, particularly academic investigators.

The funding amount for this specific call is approximately €5 million, with a single-stage submission process. The deadline for application submissions is September 16, 2025, with an opening date of May 6, 2025. The expected outcome is to streamline practices among various funding organizations while avoiding overlaps with existing EU-funded research.

The application process is straightforward and consists of one stage with no pre-proposal phase. Successful proposals will be required to demonstrate a pooling of various financial resources from national, regional, and charity-based funding to support the collaborative efforts in research. The call emphasizes the importance of leveraging resources and collaborative frameworks to maximize the impact of cancer research funding.

Applications must adhere to specific admissibility conditions, funding criteria, and evaluation processes as detailed in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. The overall goal of this grant is to tackle common challenges in cancer research through effective transnational cooperation and to develop a cohesive funding strategy that enhances understanding and management of cancer within the EU context.

In summary, the grant aims to enhance collaboration among cancer research funders to support translational research under the EU Cancer Mission, prioritizing coordinated frameworks and strategic partnerships among public and private funding entities across Europe.

This is a description of the EU funding opportunity HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-01, titled "Sustained collaboration of national and regional cancer funders to support the Cancer Mission through translational research". It falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the call "Supporting the implementation of the Cancer Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2025-02)". The type of action is HORIZON-CSA, which stands for HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions. The Model Grant Agreement type is HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS].

The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline. The opening date was May 6, 2025, and the deadline for submission is September 16, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcome of the successful proposal is to have national and regional cancer funders across Europe (representing Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern, and Western Europe) deliver, based on a common strategic research and innovation agenda:

1. At least four transnational calls for proposals addressing translational cancer research, resulting in collaborative grants to academic investigator-led third parties.
2. Streamlined national, regional, and foundation-based or charity-based practices in organizing peer-reviewed translational cancer research and innovation funding between the partners, with attention to exploring novel funding schemes and initiatives as well as sustainability of a network of funders where appropriate.

The scope of the proposal should address the following:

Align, coordinate, and support efforts from and between national and regional public and private research funding programs on translational cancer research to issue at least four joint transnational calls which are integrated with the Cancer Mission and the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.
Pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national and regional research programs as well as, where appropriate, leverage resources from pertinent foundations, charities, and transnational initiatives, to support at least four joint transnational calls for proposals which are integrated with the Cancer Mission and the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, while avoiding overlaps with EU-funded research under Horizon Europe.
Demonstrate the potential impact of collaboration between national and regional transnational research and innovation programs, as well as demonstrate a leverage effect on European and national research and competitiveness using key indicators.
Consider novel funding schemes and joint activities such as analyses of research and innovation funding programs, impact, dissemination, citizen (including cancer patients), engagement, and training.
Datasets produced by collaborative grants to academic investigator-led third parties should be made FAIR whenever possible, while tools and models should follow the principles of open science, taking advantage of current European research infrastructures and supporting the future UNCAN.eu research data platform.

This action supports the follow-up to the July 2023 Communication on EU Missions assessment.

Topic updates indicate that the submission session is now available for HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-05, HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-01, HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-02, HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-03, HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-04, and HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-06.

The general conditions for this funding opportunity include:

1. Admissibility Conditions: The proposal page limit and layout are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. 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, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other Eligible Conditions are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The thresholds for each criterion will be 4 (Excellence), 4 (Impact), and 4 (Implementation), with a cumulative threshold of 12.
5c. Evaluation and award: The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: 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 and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community. This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal. Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes also provides relevant information.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and the model grant agreement (MGA) are available, with application form templates specific to this call accessible in the Submission System, including a standard application form (HE CSA). Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including a standard evaluation form (HE CSA). Guidance is provided through the HE Programme Guide, Lump Sum MGA, call-specific instructions, a detailed budget table (HE LS), and guidance on "Lump sums - what do I need to know?".

Additional documents include: HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction, HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 12. Missions, HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. 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.

The budget overview indicates that for HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-01, the budget is 5,000,000 EUR for the year 2025. The action is a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA) with a single stage. The opening date is May 6, 2025, and the deadline is September 16, 2025. The indicative number of grants is 1.

There are 6 partner search announcements available. LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into the Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile.

To start the submission process, applicants need to access the Electronic Submission Service by clicking the submission button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to their proposal. They will be asked to confirm their choice, as it cannot be changed in the submission system. Upon confirmation, they will be linked to the correct entry point. Existing draft proposals can be accessed by logging into the Funding & Tenders Portal and selecting the My Proposals page of the My Area section.

Applicants are advised to read all provisions carefully before preparing their application. The Online Manual serves as a guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing the grant. The Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains detailed guidance on the structure, budget, and political priorities of Horizon Europe. The Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ provides answers to frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation, and grant management. The Research Enquiry Service can be used to ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular. National Contact Points (NCPs) offer guidance, practical information, and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. The Enterprise Europe Network can be contacted for advice to businesses with a special focus on SMEs. The IT Helpdesk can be contacted for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, and technical aspects of submission of proposals. The European IPR Helpdesk assists on intellectual property issues. CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk advise on how to tackle standardisation in the project proposal. The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment outline the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities, and entitlements of researchers, employers, and funders of researchers. Partner Search helps find a partner organisation for the proposal.

In summary, this funding opportunity aims to foster collaboration among national and regional cancer research funders in Europe to support translational cancer research in alignment with the Cancer Mission and the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. It seeks to streamline funding practices, promote data sharing, and leverage resources to address common challenges in cancer research. The EU funding will support coordination and transnational calls for proposals but will not directly co-fund grants to third parties. The call encourages the use of FAIR data principles and open science practices. The submission deadline is September 16, 2025.

Eligible Applicant Types: National and regional cancer funders (public and private), foundations, and charities are explicitly mentioned as relevant to this opportunity. The call aims to involve funders from Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern, and Western Europe. Academic investigator-led third parties can receive collaborative grants resulting from transnational calls.

Funding Type: The primary funding mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA). The EU contribution will not be used to co-fund the grants to third parties.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants, specifically national and regional cancer funders across Europe. The emphasis is on transnational cooperation and leveraging resources.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. The call specifically targets national and regional cancer funders across Europe, encompassing Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern, and Western regions. 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 target sector is health, specifically translational cancer research. The program aims to support the implementation of the Cancer Mission and the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.

Mentioned Countries: While specific countries are not listed, the opportunity targets national and regional cancer funders across Europe, implying a broad geographic scope within the EU and associated countries. Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern and Western Europe are mentioned as regions.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on coordination and support actions, as well as research and innovation actions in translational cancer research. This includes aligning research programs, pooling financial resources, and demonstrating the impact of collaboration.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic:
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-01: around €5,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-02: €6,000,000 to €7,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-03: €7,000,000 to €10,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-04: €6,000,000 to €8,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-05: €3,000,000 to €5,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-06: around €11,000,000

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 lump sum grants.

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

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants varies per topic, suggesting different success rates depending on the specific call. For example, some topics indicate one grant will be awarded, while others indicate four or five.

Co-funding Requirement: The EU contribution will not be used to co-fund the grants to third parties. However, the proposal should pool financial resources from participating national and regional research programs, as well as leverage resources from foundations, charities, and transnational initiatives.

This Horizon Europe call, supporting the implementation of the Cancer Mission, aims to foster sustained collaboration among national and regional cancer funders to advance translational cancer research. The call seeks to align and coordinate efforts between public and private research funding programs, pool financial resources, and demonstrate the impact of transnational research and innovation programs. Eligible applicants include national and regional cancer funders across Europe, foundations, and charities. The funding is provided through lump sum grants under HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) and Research and Innovation Actions (RIA). The call requires a consortium of multiple applicants and is open to entities from EU Member States and Associated Countries, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries. The projects should focus on translational cancer research, aligning with the Cancer Mission and the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. The application process is a single-stage submission, and the indicative number of grants varies per topic. The EU funding will not be used to co-fund grants to third parties, but applicants are expected to pool resources from various funding programs and initiatives. The overall goal is to address common challenges in cancer research through effective transnational cooperation and to enhance the understanding of cancer while aligning research programs and activities across Member States and Associated Countries.