Innovative procurements – Cluster Health and Mission Cancer draft calls 2026-2027

Hospitals, health authorities, SMEs and innovative R&D organisations can benefit from upcoming Horizon Europe funding opportunities to shape or deploy innovative solutions to address unmet healthcare needs.

In the Horizon Europe Programme, there are two types of innovation procurement support:

Are you representing a public authority, a hospital, in a nutshell, a procurer?

This paragraph is for you if:

• you have unmet needs,
• you know partners who share the same needs,
• there is a call to which you can apply
• you are ready to purchase and deploy innovative solutions, or at least to shape and steer the innovation process.

Why are PCP/PPI interesting?

You can initiate innovation procurement schemes to invest in developing and buying innovative products and services. You act as early adopters of innovative solutions, therefore creating new markets.

What amount can you expect? 

The funding rate of the PCP is 100% while it is of 50% for the PPI. For each call topics listed above, we are talking about approximately 20 to 25 million euros envelopes to fund 3 to 5 projects. The funding will cover for instance the management of the procurement and for a large part, the R&D services.

What are the PCP and PPI foreseen under the Cluster health and Mission Cancer in 2026-2027 Work Programme? 

As of August 2025, you can find three PPC/PPI draft descriptions in the draft Work Programmes of Cluster 1 and Missions (including Mission Cancer) published by the European Commission, respectively here and here. As drafts as they are, they are subject to change… or could be deleted!

In a nutshell, you can find:

• A PPI for improving improving citizens’ access to healthcare through integrated and personalised approaches (HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-CARE-01) opening on 10 Feb 2026 and closing on 16 April 2026. It will target public/private procurers having deployment responsibilities and budget control in the provision of the health and care services.

• A PCP on Tools and technologies to support health adaptation to climate change (HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-MISSCLIMA-03) opening on 10 Feb 2027 and closing on 13 April 2027. Proposals under this topic will support the development of innovative solutions, tools and models to enhance surveillance, prediction, prevention, risk management and diagnosis (e.g. testing), supporting the adaptation, resilience, and preparedness of healthcare systems and populations to climatic and climate-related environmental health risks.

• A PCP of affordable solutions for healthcare systems in the areas of cancer technologies, cancer medical devices, or cancer medicines (HORIZON-MISS-2027-02-CANCER-05).

Do you want to hear individuals who were involved PCP/PPI?

In the PCP online workshop organized by HNN3.0 in Sept 2024, you can read, or listen, to experiences from a PCP coordinator, from a hospital but also from an evaluator.

How can NCP Brussels support you?  

If you want to hear more about, to name a few:

• The rules for participations,
• The eligible activities,
• The rules for forming an international consortium,
• Which free support you can get in your proposal preparation,
• How to look for partners,

Contact your Cluster Health/Mission Cancer NCPs for the Brusses region entities (Emilie Fonck and Marie-Elisabeth Colin).

National Contact Points are nominated by the European Commission are the main network to provide guidance and assistance to the Horizon Europe Programme.

Are you an SME, an industry, or any organisation that can develop and scale solutions?

Why is it relevant for SMEs to participate in PCP/PPI?

• Get funding for R&D activities, increase the maturity of your solutions and your chances in future procurement for large scale deployment.
• Grow beyond your traditional role in public procurement of the subcontractor to a bigger firm/hospitals.
• Keep the IPR ownership rights instead of the procurers in PCP.
• Collaborate with procurers and get a better perspective to commercialise your newly developed products more widely.
• Go international.

What amount can you expect? 

Approximately 60 000 euros is planned to be granted to supplier/R&D performers via grants, based on available documentation.

Some figures:

• 61,5 of the total value of all PCP contacts goes directly to SMEs
• 2 years after project end 55% of projects/procurers deployed solutions

How can Enterprise Europe Network advisor support SMEs?

If you want to hear more about:

• The future call for tenders being launched by PCP/PPI
• Available resources to support you

Contact you Enterprise Europe Network advisor for health: Emilie Fonck and Marie-Elisabeth Colin.

What are the challenges of PPI and PCP ?  

These actions are complex projects to manage that sometimes face delays, especially at the development stages of the PCP. During the workshop on Innovation Procurement in Healthcare organized by the EC in June 2025, partners of PCP have shared their results, successes and also shared some lessons learned. Among some of the barriers, one could hear the difficulty for healthcare professionals to adopt one solution on the daily basis, underlying the need for change management strategies related to innovation in healthcare systems. Besides, having mature solutions not yet reimbursed discourages their use. It was also advised to considering appropriate business model and IP management. Nevertheless, one can expect to see more PCP/PPI in the future to continuing driving innovation and adoption among stakeholders.

Author: Marie-Elisabeth Colin, mecolin@hub.brussels. If you spot an incorrect information, please contact the author. Let’s not leave incorrect data on the Internet!

Disclamer: the call topics from the Cluster Health and Mission Cancer Work Programmes are only drafts and are subject to change. They are versions published by the European Commission via the Comitology register in June 2025.

(Re)sources:

• Innovation procurement, How the EU supports innovation procurement, different types of support and support by theme, European Commission
• Webinar session: How to prepare a successful innovation procurement proposal for Horizon Europe (22 June 2021), European Commission
• Online workshop “From Theory to Practice: Navigating Pre-Commercial Procurement in Horizon Europe“, Sept 2024, HNN3.0
• Pre-commercial procurement and public procurement of innovation, Pascal Verheye, NCP Flanders
• European Assistance for Innovation Procurement (EADIP), European Commission
• Draft Implementing Decision – Work Programme 2026-2027– part 12 Missions – version 2 – 20 May 2025, Comitology Register, European Commission
• Draft Implementing Decision – Work Programme 2026-2027 – Part 4 – Health – version 2 of 13/05/2025, Comitology Register, European Commission
• Attendance to the Workshop on Innovation Procurement in Healthcare, 10-11 June 2025, European Commission
• Using innovation procurement to accelerate the uptake of digital health solutions addressing unmet needs, Policy brief, 26 September 2024, Digital Health Uptake
• New PCP and PPI calls are launched, 2025.05.10, NCP Flanders
• The specific conditions for actions with PCP/PPI procurements in section H, General Annexes of the Horizon Work Programme 2023-2025
• Application form PCP actions, Application form PPI actions, EU Funding & Tender Portal
• HorizonEU Programme guide (section on cross-cutting priority ‘innovation procurement’)
• EU Funding & Tenders Portal
• Template tender documents for Horizon Europe funded PCP and PPI procurements: ”How to set up and manage HE PCP and PPI grants, From designing your proposal to managing your procurements”, European Commission
• Horizon Europe funding for PCP and PPI, How to prepare proposals for the PCP and PPI calls of the Horizon Europe programme in the fields of health, security, climate change, energy, research infrastructures and more, European Commission