Co-Creation Accelerator 2026-2027

The project running this call: EIT Digital 2026-27

EIT Digital 2026-2027 MoC Activities

EIT Digital is about building a strong Digital Europe through creating world players in areas strategic for Europe and thus contributing to European Digital Sovereignty fully aligned with the priorities of the European Commission; its activities are focused on areas essential for European digital sovereignty identified in the EIT Digital SIA: digital tech, wellbeing, cities, industry, and finance.A strong digital economy depends on people and organisations equipped with deep technical competence, strong entrepreneurial skills and agility to act. To this end, EIT Digital works with a student to unicorn innovation funnel aimed at skilling-up and mentoring talents wannabe in their journey to become entrepreneurs and through the growth phases of their startup. EIT Digital fosters an inclusive and connected pan-european ecosystem, which creates venues to bridge innovation gaps by connecting…

Official project record ↗

Who runs it: the consortium

5 organisations in the project. The coordinator usually manages the open call and its evaluation.

• 28digital · Belgium · SMECoordinator
• 28Digital Education Foundation · BelgiumPartner
• 28digital Finland Ry · FinlandPartner
• 28digital Hungary Hub Non Profit Kft · HungaryPartner
• EIT Digital Spain · Spain · SMEPartner

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Cascade funding: what to know before you apply

What is cascade funding?

Cascade funding (also called financial support to third parties) is money the European Commission gives to an EU-funded project, which the project then passes on to startups, SMEs, researchers or other organisations through its own open calls. You apply to the project, not to the Commission, and the project's own call rules apply.

Who can apply?

Each call sets its own eligibility in its call document: usually organisations established in an EU member state or a Horizon Europe associated country, often startups and SMEs. Check the call's eligibility section and the official guide before you apply.

Do I need a consortium?

Most cascade calls accept single applicants, which makes them one of the easiest ways into EU funding. Some calls ask for small teams; the call document says which.

How large are the grants?

Typically tens of thousands of euros per applicant and rarely more than €200,000, because the EU rules for financial support to third parties keep amounts per recipient modest. The exact maximum is in each call.

Can I combine it with other EU funding?

Yes, as long as the same costs are not funded twice. Many startups use a cascade grant to build evidence before applying to larger programmes such as the EIC Accelerator.

Cascade funding in the glossary · All open cascade calls