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NGI European Calls: Three New Opportunities for the Digital Future

NGI European Calls: Three New Opportunities for the Digital Future



Summary

Three NGI calls open significant opportunities for developing an open, secure, user-centered Internet in Europe. They offer grants from €5,000 to €50,000 with a deadline of April 1, 2026, requiring open-access results. An analysis of who can participate and the impact for SMEs, academia, and public administration.


Key takeaways

  • Concrete funding of €5,000–€50,000 for projects with open-access results, deadline April 1, 2026, and clear participation conditions.

  • The three NGI calls cover digital commons, digital payments, and next-generation hosting, providing an integrated framework for European innovation.

  • SMEs, researchers, universities, public bodies, non-profit organizations, communities, and individuals may participate, with open-access requirements for results.

  • Potential benefits include greater interoperability and rapid diffusion, but coordination challenges and intellectual property rights concerns.



Three NGI Calls and What They Cover

The Next Generation Internet (NGI) has launched three open calls as part of the European strategy for an open, secure, and user-centered internet. Three NGI calls offer grants ranging from €5,000 to €50,000 per project, with a deadline of 1 April 2026. The calls target SMEs, researchers, universities, public bodies, non-profit organizations, communities, and individuals, provided that results are made fully open access.


This open-access oriented approach facilitates rapid diffusion of innovations and reduces time-to-market.



NGI Zero Commons Fund

This call aims to develop and scale new digital commons, covering the entire technology stack, from libre software and hardware to P2P infrastructures, from open data to Artificial Intelligence. Participants may include SMEs, researchers, universities, public bodies, non-profit organizations, communities, and individuals, provided that results are open access.


NGI Taler

The call is dedicated to developing digital payment systems that protect privacy, deliver reliability and transparency, based on open technologies. It is open to SMEs, academia, the public sector, non-profit organizations, communities, and individuals, with the requirement to publish scientific and technological results in open source format.


NGI Fediversity

This call aims to create a future hosting platform, based on service portability, personal freedom, absence of tracking, and scalability, to ensure secure and accessible digital systems for all. Eligible participants include SMEs, researchers, public bodies, non-profit organizations and individuals, with results that must be open.

Deadline: April 1, 2026


The combination of open standards and public accountability can drive sustainable and inclusive growth in the European digital sector.


In short, these calls provide an integrated framework for developing advanced digital solutions that promote transparency, interoperability, and open access to the results of research and innovation.


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