European Programs: EIC Pathfinder and Decentralized Cooperation

European and national programs are fundamental pillars of innovation, catalyzing frontier research, the development of advanced skills, and the promotion of sustainable development on a global scale. In an era of rapid technological change and complex challenges, Europe and its regions are stepping up efforts to create a fertile ecosystem where bold ideas can flourish and turn into concrete solutions. This commitment takes shape through a series of strategic initiatives and funding opportunities that, though they differ in scope and scale, converge on a shared goal: building a resilient, cutting-edge future.

European and national programs are fundamental pillars of innovation, catalyzing frontier research, the development of advanced skills, and the promotion of sustainable development on a global scale.

These opportunities outline a macro-trend in which innovation is seen not merely as an end in itself, but as an essential engine for social, economic, and environmental progress. The various measures touch every stage of the innovation life cycle, from the boldest ideation to its materialization in concrete applications. They emphasize the importance of human capital, transnational cooperation, and basic research. Understanding the scope and interconnections of these programs is essential for founders, innovators, and investors who want to play an active part in shaping the future, both locally and internationally.

EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2026: Frontier Research for European Technological Leadership

The EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2026 call, part of the European programs under Horizon Europe, makes available a total budget of €96 million for the development of radically new emerging technologies. Open until 28 October 2026 and set out in the EIC Work Programme 2026, its aim is to strengthen European technological leadership in strategic sectors. The EIC Work Programme 2026 is the annual work plan of the European Innovation Council (EIC), Horizon Europe’s flagship initiative for identifying, developing, and scaling breakthrough innovations. This call specifically targets projects with Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) between 1 and 4, ranging from basic scientific research (TRL 1) to technology validation in a laboratory environment (TRL 4). The intent is to fund coherent portfolios of interdisciplinary, high-risk research projects, laying the groundwork for breakthrough technologies capable of transforming strategic sectors.

The call focuses on three high-impact thematic challenges. The first is “Advanced Materials for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting Systems”, which aims to develop innovative materials for systems able to harvest energy from ambient sources in confined spaces. The second challenge, “Biotechnology for Healthy Ageing”, focuses on applying biotechnology to improve health and quality of life in the older population. Finally, “DeepRAP: Deep Reasoning, Abstraction & Planning towards trustworthy Cognitive AI Systems” is dedicated to developing trustworthy cognitive AI systems capable of deep reasoning, abstraction, and planning. Individual researchers or multidisciplinary consortia may apply. For consortia, a minimum of two independent legal entities from two different European Union Member States or countries associated with Horizon Europe is required — that is, nations that have signed agreements with the EU to take part in portions of the research and innovation framework program. Consortia of three or more entities must include at least three independent beneficiaries, each based in a different country, and at least one of these must be in a Member State. Universities, research bodies, SMEs, and start-ups are among the eligible entities.

Decentralized Cooperation: Sustainable Development and Partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Piedmont Region and the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, through the Piedmont and Sub-Saharan Africa 2026 call, support decentralized-cooperation initiatives lasting up to 24 months. The goal is to strengthen existing territorial partnerships and promote sustainable local development in specific Sub-Saharan African countries: Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea (Conakry), and Senegal. This initiative renews the commitment to supporting cooperation led by Piedmont local authorities, focusing on key sectors.

Projects must address local development and sustainable agriculture, the promotion of sustainable food systems, nutrition, vocational training, start-up creation, and the strengthening of services, with particular attention to supporting young people and women. The proposed initiatives must help improve the living conditions of local populations and reduce poverty, inequality, and food insecurity. Another aim is to facilitate relations between partner communities — Piedmontese and African — including through the signing or renewal of collaboration agreements. Also fundamental is improving the mutual perception of the territories, fostering greater knowledge of the realities that give rise to migration flows. All initiatives must contribute to the goals of the 2030 Agenda, the United Nations’ global action plan for sustainable development adopted in 2015, which includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The eligible applicants are exclusively Piedmont local authorities — such as Provinces, the Metropolitan City of Turin, Municipalities, and mountain municipality unions — each of which may submit only one proposal as lead applicant.

EIT Culture & Creativity: Advanced Training and New Programs for the Audiovisual Sector

EIT Culture & Creativity has launched a call to fund continuing professional development programs, delivered online and mainly in asynchronous mode. The initiative aims to develop immediately operational capabilities and to build measurable skills in the cultural and creative sectors, with a focus on integrating Artificial Intelligence. EIT Culture & Creativity is the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) dedicated to the cultural and creative sectors, with the goal of strengthening their capacity for innovation. The training programs are designed to offer flexibility to working professionals, with a strongly practical teaching approach and English as the main language of delivery.

The measure focuses on three thematic areas that are crucial for the sector’s competitiveness. The first is intellectual property and rights management, with the aim of developing advanced skills for protecting and monetizing content in digital and reuse contexts, including through artificial intelligence tools. The second area concerns artificial intelligence in audiovisual workflows, promoting the operational integration of automation, synthetic production, source traceability, and content-authenticity verification, in compliance with existing regulatory frameworks. Finally, digital and transmedia storytelling focuses on designing narrative architectures for interactive, immersive environments and algorithm-driven distributed platforms. Winning projects must reach a minimum target of 600 participants who complete each course. To promote inclusion, at least 30% of learners must come from regions identified as emerging or moderate in the innovation landscape. In addition, a reserved quota of 50 free places per course must be made available to beneficiaries of specific innovation- and business-creation-support programs. Participation is open to legal entities established in one of the 27 European Union Member States and in countries associated with Horizon Europe, either as single applicants (an option reserved for Higher Education Institutions) or as consortia.

ERC Starting Grant 2027: Supporting Scientific Excellence for Emerging Researchers

The European Research Council (ERC) has opened the Starting Grant 2027 call, a funding opportunity offering up to €1.5 million for a maximum duration of five years. It is dedicated to early-career researchers who earned their PhD in the ten years preceding 1 January 2027 and who have already demonstrated excellent scientific results and the potential to become research leaders. This call, with a deadline of 1 January 2027, is distinguished by the “bottom-up” approach that characterizes ERC funding, allowing proposals to be submitted in any field of research with no predefined thematic priorities. Projects must be hosted by a public or private research organization based in a European Union Member State or a country associated with Horizon Europe.

The Principal Investigator (PI) — the lead researcher responsible for the scientific direction of the project — submits the application on behalf of the host institution. The institution must guarantee the conditions needed to carry out the research in full autonomy and to manage the funding. Beyond the base contribution of €1.5 million, additional funding of up to €1 million may be requested to cover specific eligible costs, such as starting up the research activity, purchasing major equipment, accessing research infrastructure, or carrying out particularly significant experimental activities, provided they are properly justified. For Principal Investigators coming from non-associated third countries who relocate to the EU or an associated country, the additional contribution can rise to as much as €2 million. The funding can cover up to 100% of the project’s eligible direct costs, plus a contribution equal to 25% of indirect costs.

MUR: Funding for Basic Research in Private Non-Profit Bodies

The Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) has launched the procedure to define the 2026–2028 three-year table, allocating €1,112,500 for 2026. These funds are intended to support basic research activities and the operation of private non-profit bodies registered in the National Research Registry (Anagrafe nazionale delle ricerche), with variable contributions ranging from €15,000 to €30,000 per beneficiary. The MUR is the Italian government body responsible for universities and research, while the National Research Registry is a public register that collects information on research bodies and activities in Italy. The initiative is aimed at private bodies that carry out basic research and research geared toward expanding cultural, scientific, and technological knowledge, without pursuing aims directly connected to industrial or commercial development.

Resources for the 2027 and 2028 financial years will be set through subsequent budget measures. Bodies that have already begun the registration process with the Registry may also take part. Funding requests must be submitted exclusively online through the GEA platform. The application window opened on 16 July 2026 and will remain available until 12:00 on 3 September 2026. This funding is crucial to the sustainability of organizations that, while not commercially profit-driven, contribute significantly to the country’s scientific and cultural progress.

The interconnection between these different programs — whether European frontier-research programs or local cooperation initiatives — is fundamental to an innovation ecosystem that thrives on synergies. The rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence, for example, is central to the EIC Pathfinder’s “DeepRAP” challenge and an integral part of EIT Culture & Creativity’s advanced training programs. This convergence underscores a shared imperative: developing trustworthy cognitive AI systems requires not only cutting-edge research at low TRLs, but also a skilled, continuously updated workforce capable of integrating such innovations into existing workflows. Likewise, the support for basic research offered by the ERC Starting Grant and MUR funding for non-profit bodies creates the fertile ground from which the radically new ideas later backed by the EIC Pathfinder can emerge. Without continuous investment in pure research, tomorrow’s “emerging technologies” would have no foundation to build on.

However, the fragmentation of funding instruments and bureaucratic complexity can pose a significant challenge for innovators and startups. While the broad range of opportunities covers different phases and sectors, navigating European, national, and regional calls requires specific resources and expertise. For example, an organization developing biotechnology solutions for healthy ageing (EIC Pathfinder) might need to train its staff on new AI-related regulations (EIT Culture & Creativity) or collaborate with basic-research bodies (MUR, ERC) to explore new scientific avenues. The ability to orchestrate these different streams of support is often as crucial as the quality of the innovation itself. Moreover, while Europe focuses on its own technological leadership, initiatives such as the Piedmont and Sub-Saharan Africa call highlight the need to extend the benefits of innovation and sustainable development beyond European borders — addressing global challenges such as poverty and food insecurity, which in turn can affect stability and the economic environment in Europe as well.

In short, the joint analysis of data from these five programs reveals a multidimensional, integrated approach to innovation and development. From support for pure scientific research (ERC Starting Grant, MUR) that lays the foundations for future discoveries, to investment in high-risk emerging technologies (EIC Pathfinder Challenges), through to advanced training in critical skills (EIT Culture & Creativity), the European and national ecosystem is mobilizing on multiple fronts. The focus is not only on technology, but also on human capital and international cooperation, as shown by the Piedmont Region’s commitment in Sub-Saharan Africa to sustainable development that reduces inequality and improves living conditions.

This support network reflects a strategic commitment to tackling the challenges of the future — from health to artificial intelligence, from environmental sustainability to global socio-economic development. For founders and innovators, this means a landscape rich in opportunity, but also the need for a holistic vision to identify synergies among the different instruments and maximize the impact of their ideas. The future of European and Italian innovation will depend on the ability to translate excellent research into concrete applications, to train cutting-edge talent, and to extend the benefits of progress to all communities, fostering fair and resilient growth.

Source europainnovazione.com