Horizon Europe Health Cluster

With a total budget of €8.3 billion, the Health Cluster aims to tackle complex health challenges and contribute to building a stronger European Health Union.

What is the Health Cluster?

The Horizon Europe Health Cluster is a cornerstone for fostering collaboration among researchers, innovators, healthcare providers, policymakers, and industry leaders across Europe. By addressing pressing health challenges while promoting innovation and sustainability, it plays a vital role in ensuring a healthier future for all Europeans while strengthening the global competitiveness of Europe's health industry.

The Health Cluster focuses on advancing research and innovation to:

- Protect and improve public health and well-being across all ages,

- Prevent, diagnose, monitor, treat, and cure diseases,

- Develop innovative health technologies and tools,

- Promote equitable, cost-effective, and sustainable healthcare systems,

- Address environmental and social determinants of health,

- Strengthen Europe's health industry competitiveness globally.

Funding

Total funding for Horizon Europe amounts to €95.5 billion (2021-2027).

Allocated to Cluster 1 (Health): €8.3 billion.

The Health Cluster offers funding through three main types of actions:

1. Research and Innovation Actions (RIA):

   • Establish new knowledge or explore new/improved technologies.

   • Covers up to 100% of project costs.

2. Innovation Actions (IA):

   • Focuses on prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale validation, or market replication.

   • Covers up to 70% of project costs.

3. Coordination and Support Actions (CSA):

   • Improves cooperation among EU countries through networking activities or policy dialogues.

   • Covers up to 100% of project costs.

Destinations

The Health Cluster is structured around six "Destinations," each addressing specific health priorities:

1. Staying Healthy in a Rapidly Changing Society: Focus on disease prevention, healthy lifestyles, and demographic changes,
2. Living and Working in a Health-Promoting Environment: Research on environmental factors affecting health (e.g., pollution, workplace safety),
3. Tackling Diseases & Reducing Disease Burden: Addresses non-communicable diseases, rare diseases, infectious diseases, and neglected diseases,
4. Ensuring Access to Innovative & High-Quality Healthcare: Aims to improve healthcare accessibility, equity, and quality,
5. Unlocking the Full Potential of New Tools & Technologies: Focuses on digital solutions, personalized medicine, and advanced diagnostics,
6. Maintaining an Innovative & Globally Competitive Health Industry: Supports the development of sustainable healthcare innovations.

Application Process

Calls for Proposals

• Published bi-annually or annually under each Destination.

• Requires collaborative projects involving consortia from multiple EU Member States or associated countries.

• Details are available on the EU's Funding & Tenders Portal.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals are assessed based on:

1. Excellence (scientific quality).

2. Impact (societal relevance).

3. Implementation (feasibility).