EU Horizon Europe Call: Strengthening Health Systems Resilience through Digital Transformation and Capacity Building

The EU Horizon Europe call HORIZON-HLTH-2026-DIGITAL-01 represents a pivotal investment of up to €50 million to fortify health systems across the European Union and Associated Countries against future disruptions. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission recognized that fragmented digital infrastructures and uneven workforce digital skills were major bottlenecks to timely, equitable healthcare delivery. This call directly addresses these gaps by financing large-scale consortia to design, deploy, and evaluate integrated digital health solutions that enhance system resilience. The call is structured around three core pillars: digital health infrastructure (focusing on interoperability of electronic health records and data sharing across borders), artificial intelligence for predictive analytics (for early detection of outbreaks and clinical decision support), and telemedicine remote care (to bridge geographic and social divides in access to care). A mandatory horizontal component is health workforce capacity building—at least 15% of the project budget must be dedicated to training healthcare professionals in digital competencies. Projects are expected to last 36 to 48 months, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and scalability beyond the funding period. Eligible consortia must include at least three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. The call encourages participation from a broad spectrum of stakeholders: public health authorities, hospitals, universities, SMEs, civil society organizations, and international bodies. The total budget across all projects is €50 million, with the European Commission contributing between €8 million and €12 million per project. The call follows a two-stage submission process: an initial pre-proposal due by May 15, 2026, followed by an invitation to submit a full proposal by September 1, 2026. Evaluators will assess proposals based on excellence (30%), impact (30%), and quality and efficiency of implementation (40%). Key cross-cutting priorities include gender equality, data protection compliance with GDPR, ethical AI governance per the EU AI Act, and climate resilience through green digital infrastructure. For organizations seeking to leverage this opportunity, it is critical to build a consortium with complementary strengths and clear leadership. The coordinator must demonstrate robust financial and operational capacity to manage EU grants, including experience with Horizon Europe reporting requirements. All partners must adhere to the EU’s open science principles, including open access to publications and FAIR data management. The call also aligns with the European Health Data Space (EHDS) regulation, which aims to give citizens control over their health data and enable its use for research and policy-making. Successful projects will produce tangible outputs such as interoperable platform prototypes, AI models with validated performance metrics, training curricula for healthcare workers, and policy recommendations for national and EU-level adoption. GSLI’s training portfolio directly addresses these requirements: our **Grants Management** course prepares financial officers to handle Horizon Europe’s unit costs and time recording, while our **Writing Winning Proposals** course helps teams craft persuasive narrative and evidence sections. Moreover, our **Public Health & Epidemiology** and **Project Management for Development** courses provide certified curricula that can be integrated into the capacity-building work package. The call’s strategic importance is underscored by its alignment with the European Health Union’s goal of strengthening crisis preparedness. By investing now in digital resilience, the EU aims to reduce the economic and human costs of future health emergencies. For applicants, this is a prestigious opportunity to contribute to a policy priority that will shape healthcare delivery for decades. The deadline is firm, and given the competitive nature (expected funding rate ~15%), early consortium formation and rigorous proposal development are essential. GSLI recommends attending Horizon Europe brokerage events and leveraging our network to identify potential partners. Our **Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)** course is particularly valuable for designing the impact evaluation framework that will score highly on the ‘impact’ criterion. Ultimately, this call demands a blend of technical expertise, stakeholder engagement, and project management excellence—areas where GSLI courses can provide a decisive edge.

Strategic Overview

The EU Horizon Europe call HORIZON-HLTH-2026-DIGITAL-01 represents a pivotal investment of up to €50 million to fortify health systems across the European Union and Associated Countries against future disruptions. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission recognized that fragmented digital infrastructures and uneven workforce digital skills were major bottlenecks to timely, equitable healthcare delivery. This call directly addresses these gaps by financing large-scale consortia to design, deploy, and evaluate integrated digital health solutions that enhance system resilience. The call is structured around three core pillars: digital health infrastructure (focusing on interoperability of electronic health records and data sharing across borders), artificial intelligence for predictive analytics (for early detection of outbreaks and clinical decision support), and telemedicine remote care (to bridge geographic and social divides in access to care). A mandatory horizontal component is health workforce capacity building—at least 15% of the project budget must be dedicated to training healthcare professionals in digital competencies. Projects are expected to last 36 to 48 months, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and scalability beyond the funding period. Eligible consortia must include at least three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. The call encourages participation from a broad spectrum of stakeholders: public health authorities, hospitals, universities, SMEs, civil society organizations, and international bodies. The total budget across all projects is €50 million, with the European Commission contributing between €8 million and €12 million per project. The call follows a two-stage submission process: an initial pre-proposal due by May 15, 2026, followed by an invitation to submit a full proposal by September 1, 2026. Evaluators will assess proposals based on excellence (30%), impact (30%), and quality and efficiency of implementation (40%). Key cross-cutting priorities include gender equality, data protection compliance with GDPR, ethical AI governance per the EU AI Act, and climate resilience through green digital infrastructure. For organizations seeking to leverage this opportunity, it is critical to build a consortium with complementary strengths and clear leadership. The coordinator must demonstrate robust financial and operational capacity to manage EU grants, including experience with Horizon Europe reporting requirements. All partners must adhere to the EU’s open science principles, including open access to publications and FAIR data management. The call also aligns with the European Health Data Space (EHDS) regulation, which aims to give citizens control over their health data and enable its use for research and policy-making. Successful projects will produce tangible outputs such as interoperable platform prototypes, AI models with validated performance metrics, training curricula for healthcare workers, and policy recommendations for national and EU-level adoption. GSLI’s training portfolio directly addresses these requirements: our **Grants Management** course prepares financial officers to handle Horizon Europe’s unit costs and time recording, while our **Writing Winning Proposals** course helps teams craft persuasive narrative and evidence sections. Moreover, our **Public Health & Epidemiology** and **Project Management for Development** courses provide certified curricula that can be integrated into the capacity-building work package. The call’s strategic importance is underscored by its alignment with the European Health Union’s goal of strengthening crisis preparedness. By investing now in digital resilience, the EU aims to reduce the economic and human costs of future health emergencies. For applicants, this is a prestigious opportunity to contribute to a policy priority that will shape healthcare delivery for decades. The deadline is firm, and given the competitive nature (expected funding rate ~15%), early consortium formation and rigorous proposal development are essential. GSLI recommends attending Horizon Europe brokerage events and leveraging our network to identify potential partners. Our **Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)** course is particularly valuable for designing the impact evaluation framework that will score highly on the ‘impact’ criterion. Ultimately, this call demands a blend of technical expertise, stakeholder engagement, and project management excellence—areas where GSLI courses can provide a decisive edge.

Who is it For?

Eligible applicants include legal entities established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. This encompasses universities, research institutes, hospitals, health authorities, SMEs, large enterprises, NGOs, and international organizations. Consortia must comprise at least three independent entities from three different eligible countries. The lead coordinator must be an organization with proven financial and operational capacity to manage EU grants (minimum turnover of €2 million annually or equivalent). The call particularly welcomes participation from: (1) public health authorities and regional health agencies responsible for digital health strategies; (2) academic medical centers with expertise in health informatics, epidemiology, and implementation science; (3) digital health startups and SMEs developing interoperable platforms or AI tools; (4) patient advocacy groups and civil society organizations representing underrepresented populations; (5) WHO and other international bodies with observer status. For organizations from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) outside Europe, eligibility is limited to specific conditions (e.g., co-funding or in-kind contributions). The call encourages inclusion of partners from widening countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia) to strengthen cohesion. All partners must demonstrate capacity in at least one of: digital health deployment, training/capacity building, or health systems research.

Priorities

The European Commission's priorities for this call are structured around four pillars: (1) Digital Health Infrastructure and Interoperability: Projects must develop or scale up interoperable electronic health record (EHR) systems, health data exchange platforms (e.g., HL7 FHIR standards), and cross-border data sharing mechanisms that comply with the European Health Data Space (EHDS) regulation. Emphasis on linking primary care, hospital, and public health data for real-time surveillance. (2) Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics: Investment in AI-driven tools for early outbreak detection (e.g., syndromic surveillance using social media or pharmacy data), clinical decision support for chronic disease management, and predictive models for health workforce allocation during surges. Explainability and bias mitigation are mandatory. (3) Telehealth and Remote Care Scale-Up: Proposals must demonstrate at least 30% improvement in access to care for rural or underserved populations through telehealth hubs, remote patient monitoring for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), or virtual triage systems. Integration with national e-prescription and e-referral systems is required. (4) Health Workforce Digital Upskilling: At least 15% of the budget must be allocated to training programs for healthcare professionals in digital literacy, data analysis, and cybersecurity. Training should target 10,000+ healthcare workers across consortium countries. Cross-cutting priorities include gender equality (sex-disaggregated data collection), climate resilience (green digital health infrastructure), and ethical AI governance (adherence to EU AI Act). KPIs include: 20% reduction in administrative burden for clinicians, 50% increase in patient portal activation, and 95% data completeness in shared registries.

Eligibility

Financial eligibility requires each partner to submit audited financial statements for the last two closed fiscal years, demonstrating sufficient liquidity (current ratio > 1.2) and solvency (debt-to-equity ratio < 1.5). The coordinator must have a minimum annual turnover of €2 million; other partners need at least €500,000. In-kind contributions are allowed up to 20% of the project budget. Spatial eligibility: projects must target at least three EU/Associated Countries, with activities physically located in those countries. Digital infrastructure must comply with EU data residency requirements (data stored within EU/EEA). For LMIC partners, activities must be ancillary to the main EU-based work. Corporate legal: all partners must register in the Participant Register with a valid PIC number. Consortium agreement must include IPR management (open access policies for publications and data under Horizon Europe rules), non-disclosure clauses, and a dispute resolution mechanism. Compliance with national GDPR implementations is mandatory. Additionally, each partner must submit a 'Declaration of Honour' confirming no conflict of interest with the Commission, no ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, and no prior fraud convictions. For healthcare providers, proof of clinical governance certification (e.g., ISO 9001 for hospitals) may be required. Cross-border health data sharing requires explicit data processing agreements aligning with Article 28 of GDPR. Projects must also conduct a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) prior to pilot deployment.

Path to Success

To secure funding under this Horizon Europe call, GSLI recommends a four-phase strategic roadmap integrating targeted capacity building. Phase 1: Consortium Assembly and Gap Analysis (Months 1-3). Identify complementary partners covering all required expertise: digital health infrastructure, AI, training, and health systems. Use GSLI's 'Grants Management' and 'Writing Winning Proposals' courses to train your proposal development team on Horizon Europe rules, budget justification, and impact pathways. Conduct a thorough gap analysis of each partner's digital maturity and training needs. Phase 2: Co-Design of Intervention Logic (Months 4-6). Develop a robust Theory of Change linking digital interventions to resilience outcomes. Leverage GSLI's 'Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)' course to design indicator frameworks (e.g., number of health workers trained, interoperability score, reduction in diagnostic errors). Engage stakeholders via participatory workshops. Phase 3: Proposal Writing and Budget Optimization (Months 7-9). Draft the full proposal emphasizing work packages: (WP1) Requirements mapping and co-creation; (WP2) Interoperable platform development; (WP3) AI model training and validation; (WP4) Training and capacity building; (WP5) Pilot implementation in 3+ clinical settings; (WP6) Dissemination and sustainability. Budget must allocate at least 15% to training (use GSLI's 'Public Health & Epidemiology' and 'Project Management for Development' to certify trainers). Phase 4: Submission and Pre-Screening (Months 10-12). Submit pre-proposal by May 15, 2026. Use GSLI's 'Financial Management for NGOs' course to audit budget compliance with Horizon Europe's unit costs. Prepare for remote evaluation by the Commission. After invitation, submit full proposal by September 1, 2026. GSLI's 'WASH' course, while not directly health digital, can be cross-referenced for integrated water-health resilience in climate-sensitive areas. Throughout, GSLI courses provide certifications that enhance your consortium's credibility and capacity to manage large EU grants.

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Deadline: 2026-09-01

Persona: General

Urgency: Normal