Beyond Horizon Europe Cluster 3? More EU funding opportunities for your Security research!
3rd April 2025 at 9:35 am
The 2025 drafts of Horizon Europe’s Pillar 2 Work Programmes are now online, making it an ideal time to explore relevant funding opportunities for your research and innovation projects. Our summary of the Cluster 3 draft Work Programme is a great place to start, but what if none of the call topics match your research focus?
Additional funding opportunities for security-focused research
If your research focuses on health and digital security, there is good news: other Clusters under Pillar 2 might offer relevant topics. Cluster 4 (Digital, Industry & Space) covers areas such as AI, cybersecurity, data protection, and secure communication. Cluster 1 (Health) includes topics on digital health solutions, which may overlap with bioterrorism, cybersecurity, and health data protection (see our Cluster 1 draft work programme summary).
If Horizon Europe’s Clusters do not quite fit your research goals, there are several other funding opportunities worth exploring. The EIC Pathfinder and Transition Programmes support high-risk, disruptive research with the potential for breakthrough innovation, while MSCA Doctoral Networks offer a strong option for training and mobility-focused collaborations. EU Missions and European Partnerships address security challenges through targeted thematic calls, and the EIC Pathfinder Challenges provide funding for deep-tech research with high-impact security applications.
Beyond Horizon Europe, the EU offers additional funding streams for security-related research.
- European Defence Fund (EDF): For research with a dual-use or defence focus, including cybersecurity, forensics, surveillance, and AI for security applications. The details on the Work Programme 2025 and Info Days are on their website.
- Digital Europe Programme (DEP): This programme offers funding for projects in cyber threat intelligence, secure AI, digital forensics, and more.
- Internal Security Fund (ISG): A fund that supports projects that enhance security cooperation, crime prevention, and law enforcement tools.
- Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV): This programme supports ideas relevant for research on the legal, ethical, and human rights aspects of security.
How to find the best fit? Strategic grant planning for you!
There are multiple ways to identify the right European funding opportunities. The most straightforward approach is to review the draft Work Programme, conduct an online search, and attend the Cluster-specific Information Day, typically organised by the European Commission a few months before the submission deadline. Additionally, National Contact Points across Europe offer specialised workshops on relevant topics. You can also explore the EU Funding and Tenders Portal, which features an event calendar with upcoming sessions – we would be happy to meet you at one of these events!
A more targeted and time-efficient approach is our personalised strategic grant planning (sgp) service, which we at accelopment offer to researchers and innovators based in Europe. Following the success of our recently awarded and top-ranked Cluster 3 proposal CapCell, we know what it takes to select the right instrument or call topic. Our sgp helps you identify the best suitable funding opportunity for your research and innovation idea and plan your grant applications for the coming years. To do so, we use accelGRANTSTM, our intelligent, data-driven tool that analyses funding opportunities within Horizon Europe and beyond, ensuring that your innovative ideas meet the opportunities available. We would be pleased to identify the most promising instruments early on to help you stay ahead in a highly competitive research environment!
