AI4Gov-X Cascade Funding Call - first edition [AI4Gov-X-FSTP-CALL-01-2026]

The procedure follows the principles of:

• transparency,

• equal treatment,

• confidentiality,

• absence of conflict of interest.

Admissibility and eligibility checks precede scoring; only eligible applications will be scored.

Eligible proposals are ranked by total score within the available budget.

The final award decision is endorsed by POLI.design. All applicants will receive a written justification for the decision, with terms to appeal.

Selected beneficiaries will be requested to sign a Financial Support Agreement specifying the supported activity, eligible costs, maximum amount, payment schedule and reporting obligations.

Failure to sign within the indicated timeframe may lead to loss of the grant by the autonomous decision of POLI.design.

Payments will be made by POLI.design, normally after participation in the activity and approval of the beneficiary report and cost statement. Details are provided in the individual Financial Support Agreement (including e.g. the possibility of small prefinancing in justified cases).

Eligible applicants for both priorities/objectives 1 and 2 must hold the nationality of:

- an EU country;

- the following non-EU countries being eligible to the provisions of the Digital Europe Programme: Albania, Iceland, Kosovo*, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Norway, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine;

The above list is subject to change in the future without prior advice.

Eligible host organisations for priority/objective 2 must reside in either of the above countries.

Disclaimer. This Call (as well as the financial support provided through it) is NOT an EU action. This Call is launched solely by POLI.design on behalf of the AI4Gov-X consortium. The financial support to the selected successful applicants will be provided directly by POLI.design in its own name and under its own responsibility. POLI.design's responsibility includes the preparation and drafting of this Call as well as the selection of successful applicants who will receive the said financial support. The publication of this Call in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal is made solely for information purposes with the aim of increasing the visibility of this call to the general public, including to potential applicants (i.e. students). The said publication shall not be construed as direct or indirect approval of the content and conditions of this Call by the relevant EU authorities or as any form of waiver from the above-described responsibility of POLI.design.

The full text of the Call, the draft Financial Support Agreement (see Task description below) and a courtesy application form can be accessed and freely downloaded from the Call page: https://ai4gov-x.eu/bid-to-our-open-calls/