Sustainable paths to media viability
Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society 2026 · HORIZON-IA · Needs partners
What this call funds
This call funds projects that help news organisations build sustainable business models in the digital age, using technology like AI, recommender systems, and trust indicators to keep quality journalism financially viable and visible online. The goal is to strengthen democracy by helping citizens find and trust reliable news sources amid misinformation and competition from social media and influencers.
media journalism · artificial intelligence · civil society democracy · social innovation · software platforms
Who wins this
A consortium including at least one news media organisation working with researchers, tech companies, and media studies experts to build innovative prototypes and business models that make journalism economically viable.
Could you win this call?
We read your site to see what you build.
The call in detail
- Indicative grant size
- €3.5M–€4M
- Funding model
- Lump sum — paid per completed work package, no financial reporting of actual costs
- Submission
- Single-stage submission (full proposal at once)
- Type of action
- HORIZON Innovation Actions
- Partners
- Required. The call asks for a consortium — a group applying together, typically 3+ organisations from 3+ countries.
- Eligible applicants
- news media organisation, research organisation, tech company
- Also required
- Consortia must include, as beneficiaries or affiliated entities, at least one news media organisation, and the action is subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
- Eligible countries (45)
- Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, United Kingdom, IL, TR, UA, RS, MK, ME, AL, BA, XK, GE, AM, MD, TN, NZ
Read the full conditions from the official call ›
General conditions 1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout As described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. The page limit of the Part B of the Innovation Action (IA) application using lump sum is 45 pages. In addition, it is mandatory to submit a detailed budget table using the template available in the Submission System. 2. Eligible Countries As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. 3. Other Eligible Conditions Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks. In order to achieve the expected outcomes, consortia must include, as beneficiaries or affiliated entities, at least one news media organisation[[ News media organisations are those in which a core activity is the regular production and dissemination of professional news content and/or factual programming, irrespective of its format (audio-visual media, broadcasting, printed news, newswires, multimedia, radio, online, etc.), under the editorial workflows, standards and responsibility of the said organisation.]]. In addition, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds As described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes As described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. 5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement As described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. 6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf ]]. The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5. In addition, as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions As described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Who has won calls like this
Organisations that most often win this call family · 132 past winners