UNITE Open Call 2 for Joint Interregional Projects

UNITE Open Call 2 funds joint interregional digital health projects under the UNITE European Digital Health Valleys initiative, targeting TRL 6–8 solutions that address health equity and the health workforce crisis. The call offers a total budget of €6,000,000 with up to €1,000,000 per project and regional per-partner caps and a maximum of €600,000 per organisation across UNITE calls. Eligible consortia must include at least three organisations from three different UNITE partner regions and cover a solution provider, a research entity and a real-world end-user. The call opens 10 September 2026, the submission deadline is 10 December 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time, proposals must be submitted in English via the UNITE Cloud, and selected projects are expected to run for 18 months from 1 April 2027 to 30 September 2028.

What it funds

Scope and priorities

Cascade grants to develop, co-design and test digital deep-tech solutions in real-life health settings addressing two Innovation Challenges: 1) deep-tech innovations to secure equal health for all, and 2) digital innovations to alleviate the health workforce crisis.

Total call budget and timing:Total available €6,000,000. Call opens 10 September 2026; deadline 10 December 2026, 17:00 Brussels time. Project duration 18 months (start 1 April 2027 – end 30 September 2028).

1. 1Maximum funding per project: €1,000,000
2. 2Maximum funding per organisation (cumulative across UNITE JIPs): €600,000
3. 3Maximum regional caps apply (examples: Central Macedonia €139,810; Scotland max per partner this call €250,000; Romania max per partner €250,000) as specified in call documents

Who can apply

Consortia of at least 3 organisations from 3 different UNITE partner regions. Each consortium must include a solution provider (company), a research entity and an end-user organisation. Applicants must be legally established in one of the UNITE regions and comply with region-specific funding rules.

1. 1Eligible UNITE regions: Central Macedonia (Greece), Lombardy (Italy), Extremadura (Spain), Aragón (Spain), Scotland (UK), Wales (UK), Romania (national scope), and Northern Netherlands (refer to full call for region participation details).
2. 2At least one partner must come from a Strong/Innovation Leader region (Scotland or Wales) and at least one from a Moderate/Emerging Innovator region (Central Macedonia, Romania, Lombardy, Extremadura, Aragón).
3. 3Organisations established outside UNITE regions are not eligible for funding.

Selection and conditions

Multi-stage evaluation:eligibility check, external Review Gate (Excellence, Impact, Implementation), Strategic Gate (regional alignment), due diligence interviews and final consensus. Projects sign regional Financial Support to Third Parties agreements and must meet Horizon Europe and regional state aid rules. Gender balance and ethics checks apply.

Submit proposals in English via the UNITE Cloud submission system. Read the UNITE Call Document and Specific Call 2 Document for regional eligibility, funding rates and required templates before applying UNITE Call Document UNITE Specific Call 2 ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Full application, eligibility, funding rules and region-specific conditions are detailed in the UNITE Call Document and the UNITE Specific Call 2 Document available on the UNITE website.

Call at a glance

Call title:UNITE Open Call 2 for Joint Interregional Projects. Programme / Identifier: UNITE European Digital Health Valleys, Grant Agreement 101161108, HORIZON-EIE. Call opening date: 10 September 2026. Submission deadline: 10 December 2026, 17:00 Brussels time (single-stage). Expected project start: 1 April 2027. Project duration: 18 months (expected end 30 September 2028). Total call budget: €6,000,000. Maximum funding per project: €1,000,000. Maximum funding per organisation (cumulative across all UNITE JIPs): €600,000. Proposals must be submitted in English via the UNITE Cloud proposal submission system.

Objective and scope:UNITE Call 2 funds Joint Interregional Projects (JIPs) delivering digital deep-tech solutions that address two Innovation Challenges: 1) Deep-tech innovations to secure equal health for the entire population; 2) Digital innovations to battle the health workforce crisis. Projects must target TRL 6-8 (development, validation, demonstration in real-life settings) and be demonstrated in UNITE partner regions to enable rapid scaling and market entry. Applicants should align with regional smart specialisation strategies and show exploitation and sustainability plans.

Eligibility and consortium rules

Only organisations legally based in a UNITE partner region are eligible to receive funding. Proposals must be submitted by consortia with a minimum of three organisations from three different UNITE partner regions, representing the full digital health value chain: at least one company or close-to-market solution developer, at least one research entity, and at least one end-user organisation (public sector entity, living lab, testbed, healthcare provider or equivalent). Consortium composition must include at least one Innovation Leader or Strong Innovator region and at least one Moderate or Emerging Innovator region according to the Regional Innovation Scoreboard.

1. 1Minimum consortium size: 3 organisations from 3 different UNITE regions.
2. 2Mandatory roles: solution provider (company/close-to-market), research entity, end-user organisation.
3. 3Regional coverage: at least one Innovation Leader/Strong Innovator (Scotland, Wales, Northern Netherlands) and at least one Moderate/Emerging Innovator (Central Macedonia, Romania, Lombardy, Extremadura, Aragón).
4. 4Maximum funding per project: €1,000,000. Maximum per organisation across UNITE JIPs: €600,000.
5. 5Project duration must be 18 months (start 1 April 2027, end 30 September 2028 for Call 2).
6. 6Applications must be submitted in English through the UNITE Cloud. Proposals exceeding 35 pages will be excluded.

Eligible applicant types

Eligible Applicant Types:Startups, SMEs, large enterprises (subject to regional state-aid rules), universities, research institutes, public research organisations, hospitals and other end-user public sector entities, living labs and testbeds, non-profit organisations engaging in research or health services, and innovation intermediaries based in the UNITE partner regions. Individual applicants are not eligible; funding is granted to legal entities. Public authorities and other bodies may be eligible depending on their region-specific rules. Affiliation to a UNITE partner region is mandatory for funding eligibility.

Funding and financial modalities

Funding Type:Grant via Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP). Funding is reimbursed against eligible actual costs and paid in tranches (pre-financing, interim, final) under regional FSTP Agreements and the UNITE FSTP Annex. Projects must comply with Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement provisions and relevant state aid regulations (GBER, De Minimis, or national schemes) as defined per region.

Co-funding requirement:Co-funding requirements depend on the regional funding rules set out in Annex G of the UNITE Call Document. Some regions apply funding rates by partner type (for instance 50-65% for enterprises depending on size and activity in some regions; research organisations may receive higher rates or non-aid full coverage). Applicants must include partner co-funding where required and justify costs. The precise funding rates and co-funding obligations are region- and partner-type specific and will be applied during the financial assessment.

Geographic and partner regions

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Eligible applicants must be legally established and operate in one of the UNITE partner regions: Region of Central Macedonia (Greece); Lombardy Region (Italy); Extremadura Region (Spain); Aragón Region (Spain); Scotland (United Kingdom); Wales (United Kingdom); Romania (national scope); Region of Northern Netherlands (Netherlands). Applicants legally based outside these regions are not eligible for UNITE funding.

Target sectors and technology focus

Target sector:digital health and health-related deep-tech. Thematic focus includes health equity, personalised remote care, health data spaces interoperability, workforce-support technologies, AI/ML, natural language processing, large language models where appropriate, decision-support systems, digital therapeutics, remote monitoring and IoT, computer vision, robotics and assistive technologies, clinical bioinformatics, genomics pipelines, secure health data platforms, privacy-preserving analytics, interoperable PHR/EHR integration, and inclusive UX/accessibility for disadvantaged groups.

Project maturity and expected stage

Project Stage:Target TRL: 6 to 8. Projects should be at development, validation, demonstration and real-life testing phases aiming for rapid deployment by user organisations and market scale-up. Activities include co-design, further development, pilot testing in living labs/testbeds, clinical or operational validation, regulatory pathway planning, and preparation for commercialization and scale-up.

Application process and evaluation

Application Type:Open call (competitive), single-stage submission through the UNITE Cloud submission system. Applicants must register on the UNITE Cloud, complete the online form, and upload required documents (Description of Work and Ethics Self-Assessment templates provided). Submissions must be in English, exclude sensitive personal data and trade secrets, and comply with page limits.

Submission and evaluation stages:Multi-stage gated evaluation with five sequential selection steps: 1) Eligibility Criteria Check; 2) Review Gate (external independent experts evaluate Excellence, Impact, Quality & Efficiency of Implementation); 3) Strategic Gate (UNITE Team assesses regional alignment, budget fit and strategic priorities); 4) Due Diligence Interviews (45-minute interview with full consortium and pitch deck); 5) Consensus Meeting of the UNITE General Assembly to finalize selections. Passing thresholds: minimum average score of 3 per section at Review Gate, and minimum average 3.5 at Strategic Gate. Feedback provided approximately nine weeks after the call deadline. Selected proposals may be placed on a reserve list valid for 75 days.

1. 1Five evaluation steps in sequence: Eligibility Check, Review Gate, Strategic Gate, Due Diligence Interview, Consensus Meeting.
2. 2External experts (minimum 3) perform Review Gate scoring using 0-5 scale across Excellence, Impact, Quality & Efficiency of Implementation.
3. 3Strategic Gate assesses regional balance, alignment and budget constraints; minimum average 3.5 required.
4. 4Due Diligence Interview: all partners expected to attend; JIP Coordinator presents a maximum 5-slide pitch; questions may modify final Strategic Gate recommendation.
5. 5Final decision and contracting follow the Consensus Meeting; winners sign FSTP Agreements within the specified window to access funds.

Selection criteria and scoring

Evaluation uses Excellence, Impact, Quality & Efficiency of Implementation (each ≈ 33.33% weight) in Review Gate; Strategic Alignment is assessed at Strategic Gate. Scoring 0-5 per question. To progress from Review Gate, proposals must obtain an average of at least 3 in each main criterion. Strategic Gate requires average >= 3.5. Tie-breaking rules prioritize Review Gate overall score, Impact average, lead partner from Emerging/Moderate Innovator region, and gender balance.

Budget, eligible costs and payment

Funding Amount:Total call budget €6,000,000. Maximum per project €1,000,000. Maximum per organisation €600,000 across all UNITE JIPs. Regional per-partner maximums for Call 2 (indicative limits defined in Specific Call 2 factsheet): Central Macedonia €139,810; Lombardy €600,000; Extremadura €600,000; Aragón €600,000; Scotland €250,000; Wales €600,000; Romania €250,000.

Eligible cost categories follow Horizon Europe and regional rules:personnel costs, depreciation of equipment/buildings used for the project, subcontracting in limited cases, contractual research and licensing costs at arm's length, consumables, travel, and additional operating expenses. Regions apply funding rates and ceilings per GBER, De Minimis or national state aid schemes; research organisations may be financed as non-aid in some regions. Co-funding, funding rates and eligibility must be checked in Annex G for each region. Payments are conditional on milestone/KPI achievement and subject to region-level checks before disbursement.

Administrative, legal and compliance requirements

All selected beneficiaries must sign Regional FSTP Agreements and the UNITE FSTP Annex. Participants must obtain a validated Participant Identification Code (PIC) in the European Commission Participant Register before signing. Projects must comply with Horizon Europe MGA provisions and applicable state aid rules (Article 25 GBER or other schemes as applicable). Applicants must pass sanctions checks (e.g. Russian sanctions compliance) and adhere to ethics screening; an Ethics Self-Assessment is required. Intellectual property rules follow Article 16 of the Horizon Europe MGA. Data Management Plans must comply with GDPR and FAIR principles, with attention to health data safeguards.

Regional specific requirements and contacts

Region-specific eligibility, funding rates, documentation and additional mandatory conditions are provided in Annex G of the UNITE Call Document and in region-specific sections of the Specific Call 2 Document. Applicants must consult Annex G and contact their regional representative well in advance of submission to confirm eligibility, funding rates, and application process access. Regional contact emails are provided in the call documentation and on the UNITE Cloud.

1. 1Central Macedonia (Greece): contact k.pantazi@pkm.gov.gr; specific GBER-based aid intensity rules apply and beneficiaries must have a branch in the region at disbursement. Maximum per-partner in Call 2: €139,810.
2. 2Lombardy (Italy): contacts pierangelo_pareo@regione.lombardia.it and mario_capocefalo@regione.lombardia.it; multiple GBER articles and De Minimis/declarations apply; eligible costs and funding rates vary by activity and enterprise size.
3. 3Extremadura (Spain): contact anto.recio@fundecyt-pctex.es; region-specific rules apply (see Annex G).
4. 4Aragón (Spain): contact rornat@aragon.es; region-specific rules apply (see Annex G).
5. 5Northern Netherlands (Netherlands): contact ausema@nom.nl; compliance with GBER and De Minimis is required; strategic alignment recommended.
6. 6Scotland (United Kingdom): contact SEUNITEDigital@scotent.co.uk; Scottish Enterprise appraisals apply; universities and public research organisations may participate but are typically not eligible for FSTP funding; maximum per Scottish applicant in a single consortium: €250,000.
7. 7Wales (United Kingdom): contact Collaboration@gov.wales; Welsh Government SMART funding rules apply; Welsh beneficiaries are paid in GBP and must submit quarterly claims; maximum rates subject to Welsh rules; maximum per Welsh applicant in Call 2: €600,000 for region-level cap but subject to regional appraisal.
8. 8Romania (national scope): contact contact.unite@uefiscdi.ro; experimental development eligible; Romanian caps apply with a maximum Romanian participants total request per consortium €250,000.

Application materials and templates

Applicants must complete the online submission form on the UNITE Cloud and attach at least the following documents: 1) Description of Work (structured to address Excellence, Impact, Quality and Efficiency of Implementation, including work plan, milestones, deliverables, risk management, budget justification, KPIs and exploitation plan); 2) Ethics Self-Assessment (mandatory). Templates for Description of Work and Ethics Self-Assessment are provided on the UNITE Cloud and in the call documentation. Proposals must not include sensitive personal data or trade secrets. Maximum document length restrictions apply (proposals exceeding 35 pages will not be evaluated).

How application forms look like and structure to follow:The online submission form gathers administrative data, consortium composition and regional declarations, budget breakdown per partner and per task, KPI definitions and timelines, ethics self-assessment responses, and uploads of the Description of Work and supporting annexes. The Description of Work template expects clear sections mapped to evaluation criteria: 1) Excellence: problem statement, state-of-the-art, novelty, technologies and TRL, use of living labs/testbeds; 2) Impact: market need, scalability, exploitation and sustainability plan, IP management, KPIs with targets and measurement methods; 3) Quality & Efficiency of Implementation: consortium roles and capacities, work packages, tasks, milestones, deliverables, Gantt/timeline, budget justification per partner and task, risk management and mitigation. Budget must map costs into personnel, equipment depreciation, subcontracting (discouraged), contractual research, consumables and overheads; each partner should justify requested funding and co-funding where applicable. A short pitch deck (max 5 slides) is required for the Due Diligence Interview if the proposal advances.

Monitoring, KPIs and deliverables

All funded projects are continuously monitored by the UNITE Team. Two mandatory KPIs apply to all projects: 1) The proposed solution must be delivered and accepted within the project timeframe and evidenced with acceptance letters or equivalent; 2) A credible exploitation and continuation plan must be provided demonstrating commercial viability and post-project sustainability. Projects must define additional project-specific KPIs with targets, deadlines and evaluation methods. Failure to meet agreed KPIs and deliverables may lead to financial penalties or funding reduction. Reporting of costs, KPIs and deliverables is required at interim and final stages and regions may impose additional reporting obligations.

Success rates, stages and appeals

Application Stages:Five staged selection process (Eligibility, Review Gate, Strategic Gate, Due Diligence Interviews, Consensus Meeting). Successful proposals then proceed to contracting and execution. Applicants receive feedback in the submission system (feedback tab) approximately nine weeks after the deadline.

Success Rates:No explicit historical success rate is provided in the call documents. Selection depends on meeting evaluation thresholds and available regional budgets; UNITE General Assembly may place proposals on a reserve list. Applicants should assume competitive selection; success depends on scoring, regional balance and budget constraints.

Risks, exclusions and constraints

Ineligible entities include enterprises with outstanding recovery orders for unlawful state aid, undertakings in difficulty, enterprises under bankruptcy/liquidation, and enterprises that have received rescue or restructuring aid without repayment or closure of measures. Affiliations to UNITE partner regional administrations are disallowed for applicants. Conflict of interest, sanctions compliance, ethics concerns and high-risk profiles can lead to rejection. Subcontracting is allowed only in limited cases and cannot cover core project activities. Financial support to third parties outside the consortium is not allowed.

How to prepare a competitive proposal

1. 1Engage regional contacts early to confirm eligibility, regional rules and access to UNITE Cloud.
2. 2Form a consortium covering the full value chain with demonstrated complementary skills and real demonstration/testbed commitments in partner regions.
3. 3Design projects at TRL 6-8 with clear validation in real-life settings (living labs, hospitals, testbeds).
4. 4Provide a realistic budget with regional funding rate compliance and explain co-funding sources where required.
5. 5Define measurable KPIs, deliverables, milestones, exploitation and sustainability pathways, and IP arrangements.
6. 6Address ethics, data protection (GDPR) and health data management; include a detailed Data Management Plan.
7. 7Demonstrate gender balance and diversity in team composition and integration of gender analysis in R&I activities.
8. 8Prepare a concise 5-slide pitch for the Due Diligence Interview that explains problem, solution, consortium, plan and KPIs.

For templates, submission, matchmaking and FAQs use the UNITE Cloud portal. General inquiries: unitecloud@eitdigital.eu. Region contacts are listed in Annex G of the call documents and in the Specific Call 2 Document.

Mentioned Countries / Regions:Greece (Region of Central Macedonia), Italy (Lombardy Region), Spain (Extremadura Region, Aragón Region), United Kingdom (Scotland, Wales), Romania (national scope), Netherlands (Region of Northern Netherlands). Note: UK regions participate under partner arrangements and funding is provided by regional agencies (Scottish Enterprise, Welsh Government) subject to their appraisal and rules.

Successor actions and matchmaking:UNITE organises matchmaking sessions, thematic workshops and events via the UNITE Matchmaking Platform to support consortia building. Applicants should actively use these opportunities and regional contact points to find partners and living labs/testbeds.

Final summary

UNITE Open Call 2 is a competitive, regionally-targeted cascade-funding opportunity focused on digital deep-tech solutions in health, specifically addressing health equity and the workforce crisis. It funds interregional consortia with real-life demonstration in UNITE regions and supports TRL 6-8 activities through FSTP grants under Horizon Europe and regional co-funding schemes. The call requires consortia from multiple UNITE regions, compliance with region-specific funding rules, strong demonstration and exploitation plans, measurable KPIs, ethics and data compliance, and gender balance. Total budget is €6 million, with up to €1 million per project and region-specific caps per partner. Applicants must use the UNITE Cloud submission system, consult Annex G for regional specifics, and engage regional contacts early.

This opportunity is best suited for startups, SMEs, research organisations and healthcare providers in the UNITE regions that can assemble interregional consortia to develop and validate mature digital health deep-tech solutions with clear pathways to scale, commercialization and regional impact.

Primary sources:UNITE Call Document and UNITE Specific Call 2 Document hosted on the UNITE website and UNITE Cloud. See also the call page on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal UNITE Open Call 2 UNITE Call Document (PDF) UNITE Specific Call 2 Document (PDF). ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Full call documentation, templates and region-specific Annex G are available on the UNITE Cloud and the UNITE website. Applicants must consult Annex G for region-specific funding rates, eligible cost rules, and mandatory national/regional procedures before submission.

UNITE Open Call 2 is a cascade funding call under the UNITE European Digital Health Valleys project, designed to support joint interregional projects in digital health across the participating UNITE regions.[5][7]

What the funding is about

The call supports innovative digital solutions that improve health equity and respond to the health workforce crisis, with emphasis on reducing unequal access to care, improving personalised care, addressing fragmented health services, easing staff shortages, streamlining workflows, reducing administrative burden, and strengthening training and skills development.[1][4][15]

Who can apply

Eligible applicants are organisations legally established in the UNITE partner regions of Central Macedonia, Lombardy, Extremadura, Aragón, Scotland, Wales, and Romania at national scope.[1][3][4]

• Consortia must include at least 3 organisations from 3 different UNITE regions.[3][4]
• Each consortium must include at least 1 solution provider, 1 research entity, and 1 end-user organisation.[3][4]
• Projects should include at least 1 strong innovation region, Scotland or Wales, and at least 1 moderate or emerging region such as Central Macedonia, Romania, Lombardy, Extremadura, or Aragón.[3][4]
• Organisations outside the eligible UNITE regions are not eligible for funding.[3]

Funding, duration and deadline

How proposals are submitted and assessed

Applications must be submitted through the dedicated UNITE Cloud submission system, and proposals are evaluated against the criteria and process set out in the UNITE Call Document and the UNITE Specific Call 2 Document.[1][3][4]

The deadline is fixed, and the call documentation states that no extensions will be granted.[3]

Practical applicant note:UNITE also encourages participation in matchmaking sessions, thematic workshops, and platform activities to support partner search and interregional collaboration, and a dedicated information session for the second call is listed for 30 September 2026.[1][4]

Overall, this opportunity is best suited to cross-border digital health consortia that can combine a solution provider, research capability, and real-world end-user validation within the eligible UNITE regions.[3][4][15]