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Public procurement of innovation for security

Horizon Europe · Grant topic

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-SSRI-03

Summary

Not an R&D call a Polish company can use, by Scindu's rule.

Funds buyer consortia procuring and piloting innovative civil security solutions, including post-quantum cryptography, to accelerate market uptake.

Who can apply
Companies can lead: SME, large company, startup, research org, university, NGO, public body.
Amount
€2M per projectTotal budget €2,000,000
Deadline
05 Nov 2026 01:00 CETin 12 days
Status
Openopened 6 May 2026
Open on the portalRegister to keep this call

Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source.

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.

Who can apply, in detail
Applicant types
SME, Large company, Startup, Research org, University, NGO, Public body
Purpose
Procurement or service
R&D relevance
1 of 3
Poland eligible
Yes
Country limit
Mandatory practitioners and procurers from three EU Member States or Associated Countries; entities controlled by China or China-established entities excluded.
Region
Any
Consortium
Required
Readiness level (TRL)
6-8
Topics
  • Public procurement of innovation
  • Civil security deployment
  • Post-quantum cryptography
  • Real-world pilots

Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source. 23 Oct 2026

Conditions8

Typed facts extracted from the source documents by Scindu's grant-data review. Each value keeps its own conditions. Unknown means unstated, not zero or unlimited.

Applicant restriction
entities established in an eligible country but which are directly or indirectly controlled by China or by a legal entity established in China are not eligible to participate in the action.
Applicant type
Eligibility follows General Annex B. Unless a topic exception applies, a consortium needs three independent legal-entity beneficiaries from different countries, including one EU Member State and two others from different EU Member States or Associated Countries; affiliated entities do not count toward that minimum. Topic-specific partner, procurement and national eligibility rules apply in addition.
Eligible project scope
Type of Action: Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions.
Other condition
The General Annexes state that for lump-sum and unit grants, the funding rate is already applied in the methodology used to fix the amounts and is not shown in the grant agreement. The action-type maximum rate below is therefore a general Horizon Europe ceiling, not an additional calculation to apply to this topic’s fixed lump-sum amount.
Other condition
Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
Partner requirement
This topic requires, as beneficiaries, at least 3 practitioners and 3 procurers in the buyer group from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. One organisation may serve as practitioner and procurer and count in each role. At least 2 procurers must be independent legal entities that are public procurers in different countries, including at least one Member State; the third procurer may be a private procurer or an NGO providing similar public-interest services.
Technology readiness level at end, maximum
8 TRL

Expected technology readiness level by project end; this describes project outcomes, not applicant eligibility or a hiring condition.

Technology readiness level at end, minimum
6 TRL

Expected technology readiness level by project end; this describes project outcomes, not applicant eligibility or a hiring condition.

Amounts and costs7
Indicative budget
€2,000,000

Topic budget as stated in the portal's budget table. Lump-sum and per-project limits are in the call conditions.

Eligible cost
The topic specifically adopts a Horizon Europe lump-sum grant. The applicable Lump Sum MGA treats the grant as a contribution for completion of work packages; eligibility depends on the amounts in Annex 2 and proper completion/implementation (or results achieved) during the action period. This is not reimbursement of each beneficiary’s actual payroll or service invoices, and does not establish a salary entitlement.
Eligible cost
For project-based Horizon Europe lump sums, the 2026 Commission guidance requires realistic estimates per cost category, beneficiary/affiliated entity and work package. Personnel-cost estimates are permitted only for cost items that would qualify under the corresponding actual-cost eligibility rules, and must follow normal practice, be reasonable, and be necessary and in line with proposed activities. These are inputs for the fixed lump-sum estimate; actual payroll is not separately reimbursed or reported as a claim under the lump-sum grant.
Eligible cost
For the applicable lump-sum model, the contribution is set out in the grant agreement Annex 2 and broken down by participant and work package; payment eligibility is tied to work-package completion and proper implementation or achieved results during the action period, as stated in the agreement. Actual underlying payroll or subcontract cost is not reimbursed invoice-by-invoice under this form.
Funding intensity, maximum
50 percent of eligible costs

General Annex maximum for PPI action type; funding rate is fixed in the grant agreement, may differ under specific topic conditions, and because this topic uses lump sum the rate is already applied in amount methodology. This is an action-type ceiling, not an independently payable addition to the expected contribution.

Expected project funding, up to
€2,000,000

Indicative expected EU contribution per project stated as around EUR 2 million; this is an estimate, not a minimum, maximum, or binding per-project cap. Applicants may request a different amount.

Expected project funding, from
€2,000,000

Indicative expected EU contribution per project stated as around EUR 2 million; this is an estimate, not a minimum, maximum, or binding per-project cap. Applicants may request a different amount.

Topic allocation
€2,000,000

Indicative total topic allocation stated as an amount in EUR million in the call overview; it is distinct from the expected EU contribution per project. Allocation scope: per topic.

Personnel and services4

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    Natural persons working under a direct contract other than an employment contract may be included as personnel cost estimates only when assigned to the action, working under conditions similar to an employee, and the result belongs to the beneficiary (unless otherwise agreed). The estimate follows actual-cost eligibility; no role or pay rate is specified.

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    Costs for employees under an employment contract or equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action; any estimated amount is only a budget input subject to the call’s lump-sum methodology and applicable actual-cost eligibility rules. This is not a prescribed job, required hire, headcount or salary rate.

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    Seconded-person personnel cost estimates are conditional on assignment to the action, employee-like working conditions and ownership of the work result by the beneficiary (unless otherwise agreed), and must correspond to actual costs and not differ significantly from comparable employee tasks. This cost category does not prescribe a job or salary.

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    The work of an SME owner or natural person beneficiary who receives no salary may be declared as personnel costs only if general eligibility conditions are met and the amount is calculated as a unit cost under Annex 2a. No hourly/monthly amount is asserted here.

Source documents5
Call facts
Opens
6 May 2026
Deadline model
Single-stage
Programme
Horizon Europe · 2021 - 2027
Call
HORIZON-CL3-2026-01 · Civil Security for Society 2026
Types of action
HORIZON Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions
Keywords
  • Development and deployment of innovative security solutions
  • Public procurement
  • emerging threats
  • innovation for security
  • innovative security technologies
  • post-quantum cryptography
  • pre-commercial procurement (PCP)
  • public security service
Source
ec.europa.eu
Checked
23 Oct 2026
Portal updated
23 Oct 2026
Review status
Partial review
Reviewed
23 Oct 2026

This is a summary of the source page, not the official text. Eligibility, conditions and the submission system are at the source.