Public procurement of innovation for security
Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions to scale and deploy civil security technologies addressing emerging threats across the EU.
This call supports the adoption of innovative civil security solutions that are nearly market-ready but not yet widely deployed. It focuses on scaling, refining, and piloting technologies to improve public security services. The initiative promotes early adoption to enhance security and technological sovereignty in Europe.
Likely relevant for
- Public procurers in civil security
- Security technology developers
- Innovation managers in public sector
- SMEs in security technology
- Research organizations in security innovation
Project signals
What it funds
- Scaling and deployment of innovative civil security solutions
- Solutions partially demonstrated at small scale but not widely adopted
- Technologies addressing emerging security threats including post-quantum cryptography
- Pilot projects and real-world testing for scalability and market readiness
- Solutions meeting sustainability, interoperability, adaptability, and commercial viability criteria
Expected outcomes
- Support last mile deployment of previous PCP actions
- Development and adoption of innovative security technologies
- Improved effectiveness and efficiency of public security services
- Early adoption of innovations critical for civil security
- Contribution to EU technological sovereignty and market innovation
Who can apply / participate
- Public procurers
- Security practitioners
- Private procurers or NGOs providing public interest services
- At least 3 practitioners and 3 public procurers as beneficiaries
- Participants from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries
- Minimum two independent public procurers from different Member States or Associated Countries, with at least one in an EU Member State
- One organization can count as both practitioner and public procurer
- Eligible participants must be from EU Member States or Associated Countries
- Non-eligible countries may have specific provisions for funding
- Compliance with Horizon Europe General Annex H for PCP/PPI actions
- Use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data if satellite-based services are involved
- Subject to restrictions protecting European communication networks
- Security sensitive results may require compliance with classified information provisions
- Exact list of eligible countries must be verified in Annex B
- Specific details on financial and operational capacity requirements
Must check before shortlisting
- Eligibility of participant countries
- Consortium composition requirements (minimum 3 practitioners and 3 public procurers from 3 different countries)
- Compliance with PCP/PPI procurement rules
- Use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS if satellite data involved
Money
The call allocates approximately EUR 2 million for one expected grant under the Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions action in 2026.
- Minimum contribution per grant — 2000000EUROne expected grant for this PPI action in 2026
Application notes
- Single-stage submission model.
- Proposal page limits and layout as per Annex A and E of Horizon Europe General Annexes
- Eligibility criteria including consortium composition as per Annex B
- Financial and operational capacity as per Annex C
- Evaluation criteria and process as per Annex D and F
- Legal and financial set-up including PCP/PPI procurement costs eligibility as per Annex G and H
- Security provisions for classified and sensitive information
- Prepare consortium meeting eligibility: at least 3 practitioners and 3 public procurers from 3 different countries
- Fill in 'Information about security practitioners' table in application form
- Engage in open market consultations if applicable
- Submit proposal by deadline 5 November 2026 via Funding & Tenders Portal
- Consortium composition and eligibility must be strictly followed
- Use of satellite data requires Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS
- Procurement must avoid conflicts of interest
- IPR distribution will be clearly outlined in call for tenders
Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 2 Jul 2026, 09:19 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.
Related calls
These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.
Official source text
Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.
Topic description
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes: Last mile support to previous pre-commercial procurement (PCP) actions; Development and deployment of innovative security solutions to address emerging threats, including post-quantum cryptography to counter emerging quantum threats, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public security services; Implementation of pilot projects and real-world testing, ensuring scalability and contributing to innovative security technologies. Scope: This Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI) initiative aims to advance the adoption of innovative civil security solutions. The focus is on solutions that have been partially demonstrated on a small scale and are nearly or already available in small quantities but have not yet been widely adopted or produced at scale. These solutions should demonstrate a clear market potential and be new to the procurers, their market segment, or the internal EU market, and must be relevant to procurers across EU Member States and/or Associated Countries. This PPI will specifically target innovative solutions that can address critical challenges in civil security and that are aligned with market readiness criteria. The solutions should meet requirements for sustainability (both operational and environmental), interoperability, adaptability, and be commercially viable while still holding residual market risks, such as not yet being produced in large quantities or at market-ready quality and pricing. This initiative will focus on solutions that have already demonstrated partially successful results but require scaling, refinement, or deployment in new environments to meet mass-market price/quality standards. This is in line with Horizon Europe’s objective of fostering the early adoption of innovations that are critical to improving civil security across Europe [1] . In compliance with the requirements of the Horizon Europe Work Programme – General Annex H, this action will engage in open market consultations with potential tenderers and end-users to identify gaps between perceived procurement needs and current industry developments. Feedback from these consultations will inform the PPI tender specifications, ensuring that the PPI emphasizes the early adoption of innovative solutions rather than the procurement of fully mature or mass-market technologies. The market readiness of the solutions can be verified through conformity testing, certification, or quality labelling. The work will also involve establishing evaluation criteria based on best-value-for-money rather than solely on the lowest price, ensuring that innovations are assessed for both their technical performance and their potential to deliver long-term value. The PPI contract notices will be published EU-wide, with offers evaluated on objective criteria, ensuring transparency and fairness in the selection process. Functional/performance-based specifications will be used to define the challenges and problems to be solved, rather than prescriptive solutions, and procurement will avoid any conflicts of interest. The distribution of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) will be clearly outlined in the PPI call for tenders, in line with the objective of promoting fair and wide exploitation of the results. The process to be followed for the preparation and publication of the open market consultation and call for tender is described in General Annex H. By fostering the early adoption of innovative technologies, this PPI initiative will enable the European civil security sector to address emerging threats, while contributing to the EU’s broader goals of technological sovereignty and market innovation. This will allow public authorities to remain at the forefront of addressing evolving risks and threats. The action will also catalyse innovation, drive competition, and significantly reduce the time needed to move from the initial concept to market. Finally, proposals are expected to address all applicable considerations expressed in the Introduction of the Strengthened Security Research and Innovation Destination. [1] For more information see General Annex H of Horizon Europe Work Programme – Specific Conditions for Actions with PCP/PPI.
Conditions and documents
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
2. Eligible Countries
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.
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
This topic requires the participation[[See General Annexes page 12 on the Consortium Composition as regards Public procurement of innovative solutions.]], as beneficiaries, of at least 3 practitioners and 3 public procurers. These beneficiaries must be from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. One organisation can have the role of practitioner and public procurer simultaneously, both counting for the overall number of organisations required for eligibility. Among the public procurers[[Under this topic, the participation is required of minimum three procurers as beneficiaries in the buyer’s group for the PPI. The third procurer in the buyer’s group can be a private procurer or an NGO that provides similar services of public interest as the public procurers.]], minimum two must be independent legal entities that are public procurers, each established in a different Member State or Associated Country and with at least one of them established in a Member State.
For participants with practitioner status, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are 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
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
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.
PCP/PPI procurement costs are eligible.
The specific conditions for actions with PCP/PPI procurements in section H of the General Annexes apply to grants funded under this topic.
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Some activities resulting from this topic may involve using classified background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE PPI)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE PCP PPI)
Guidance
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Call-specific instructions
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 6. Civil Security for Society
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support information
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant. Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe. Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management. Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular. National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’). Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding. IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues. CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal. The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers. Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
Raw budget overview
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