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Why the HORIZON-HLTH-2025-01-CARE-01 call on generative AI in healthcare matters now


18th June 2025 at 3:40 pm



Blog series 22/25: Work Programmes 2025

Generative AI (GenAI) is transforming digital industries, and its potential and challenges are highly relevant to healthcare. The Horizon Europe call HORIZON-HLTH-2025-01-CARE-01 invites robust, end-user-driven solutions that apply GenAI models in clinical settings. The goal is to both improve care quality and system efficiency and build trust, address legal concerns and reduce inequalities in access. With a deadline on 16 September 2025, this pivotal call topic aligns cutting-edge GenAI development with new EU regulations, data infrastructure initiatives and urgent health system needs for safer, more efficient and personalised care. Below, we explore the strategic urgency of this call and what successful Horizon Europe Health proposals are expected to deliver.

1. GenAI in healthcare: a political and clinical inflection point

AI policy is maturing fast, and so is GenAI’s potential. The European Health Data Space Regulation (EHDS), the EU AI Act, and multiple Digital Europe initiatives are aligning to support ethical, high-performance AI systems in health. This call reflects that policy momentum. Proposals must:

Pro tip: Anchoring your proposal in EU policy milestones, referencing the AI Act, the European Health Data Space or relevant Digital Europe initiatives signals alignment with long-term EU priorities and strengthens your credibility with evaluators.

2. From hype to health outcomes: what the EC wants to see

PhaProposals must test GenAI-driven virtual assistants in at least two healthcare use cases in different medical fields. What the EC wants:

Pro tip:  Select use cases where multimodal data is available and where clinician engagement is high. Make sure models are trained with data in multiple EU languages, when relevant.

3. Addressing bias, transparency, and liability head-on

EU regulators and healthcare users need to trust that GenAI systems won’t systematically disadvantage certain groups. To do so, your proposal should:

Pro tip: Make ethics and social science expertise central to your approach. This is a requirement, not a recommendation and it strengthens your evaluation score.

4. Building public trust through stakeholder co-creation

GenAI in health will not be adopted if it is seen as opaque or unaccountable. Horizon Europe expects applicants to:

Pro tip: Involve all stakeholders from the beginning and detail in your proposal how you plan to incorporate them in the different stages of the project and their role.

5. Proposal essentials: technical excellence meets EU alignment

To stay competitive, your Horizon Europe Health proposal should also:

Changes in the new Part B template

Please note the following when getting started with your proposal preparation: As of the latest updates to the Horizon Europe RIA/IA proposal template (Part B, v4.0 from December 2024), several noteworthy adjustments have been made. The guidance notes under Section 1.2 Methodology concerning the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle and the technical robustness of AI have been removed. Additionally, the requirements on data management have been simplified: the dedicated Research Data Management chapter has been eliminated and, instead, a brief reference to the Data Management Plan (DMP) has been integrated under the Open science practices section, streamlining the treatment of research data. On a positive note, the template now includes a new, direct link to the EU’s sex and gender reference documentation, making it easier for applicants to ensure appropriate integration of sex/gender dimensions in their research. These changes reflect a simplification and targeted focus in the current template structure.

For more information or general advice on the call topic, please consult your National Contact Point.

Looking for proposal writing support?

Since our foundation, we have been collaborating with more than 1,000 organisations in Europe and beyond. At accelopment, we support consortia driving innovation at the intersection of health, AI and systems change. Our experience includes Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 projects on digital health, brain disease diagnostics, health technology assessment and AI-enabled tools. Projects like AI-Mind and EDiHTA reflect our hands-on expertise in these fields and are in addition to our other successful Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs and IAs) HORIZON Health projects EXPOSIM, EU PAL-COPD, GLIOMATCH, COVend, GENEGUT and MyPath. We are also actively involved in Horizon 2020 Health projects still running such as EXIMIOUS and VANGUARD. Additionally, our support extends to many more health-focused Innovative Training and Doctoral Networks, including MITGEST and MobiliTraIN, as well as Pathfinder-Open projects related to health, such as POLINA and BoneOscopy

From strategic planning to full proposal development and project implementation, we work closely with researchers, companies and institutions to navigate the EU funding landscape. Whether you’re aiming for success in a Cluster 1 Health call or enhancing your project’s communication, dissemination and impact strategy, our team is ready to support you. Let’s connect and explore how we can help maximise your Horizon Europe opportunities.

Dr. Eva Avilla Royo
Research & Innovation Project Manager

Blog series 22/25: Work Programmes 2025