Wednesday, January 28th, 2026
On 20 January 2026, the European Commission held the Horizon Implementation Day – Novelties in the 2026-2027 Horizon Europe Work Programme, providing applicants with an overview of upcoming changes affecting proposal preparation, evaluation procedures and participation rules.
The session brought together representatives from DG RTD, the Research Executive Agency (REA) and DG EAC, and focused on making Horizon Europe more strategic, streamlined and accessible.
The European Commission confirmed that the 2026-2027 Work Programme has been significantly streamlined, with a substantial reduction in length and a clearer presentation of topics. The overall number of topics has been reduced, and fewer calls are expected to fund only a single project, allowing for greater flexibility and competition.
A new section on Horizontal Activities has been introduced to better structure cross-cutting calls, reduce duplication and create synergies across different parts of the programme. In parallel, the Commission reiterated that at least 50% of the total call budget will be implemented via lump sum funding, continuing the simplification of grant management.
Several updates will directly affect how proposals are written and assessed from 2026 onwards. The Impact criterion has been revised to place stronger emphasis on the credibility of pathways to achieve expected outcomes and impacts, as well as on the quality of exploitation, dissemination and communication activities.
Applicants will no longer be required to restate generic societal or economic impacts already described in the topic text. Instead, proposals should focus on concrete and, where possible, quantified contributions to the expected impacts. Proposal templates have also been simplified, and page limits reduced, reinforcing the need for concise and well-structured submissions.
The session also clarified updated eligibility and economic security provisions, particularly for Innovation Actions involving critical technologies. In certain cases, restrictions may apply depending on the action type and destination.
In addition, the Commission confirmed updates on association agreements, including the association of Switzerland and Egypt to the entire Horizon Europe programme, and the association of Japan to Pillar II from the 2026 budget onwards.
The Choose Europe for Science initiative under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) will continue as a long-term fellowship scheme with a two-phase structure, combining an EU-funded phase with a host-funded phase.
The revised evaluation approach places stronger weight on Excellence, followed by Impact and Implementation, while maintaining flexibility to accommodate national regulatory constraints affecting host co-funding.
An important operational change announced during the session concerns the mandatory introduction of two-factor authentication (2FA) for users accessing sensitive functions on the Funding & Tenders Portal. This will apply to roles such as coordinators, legal and financial signatories, team members and experts.
The roll-out will be gradual, with initial pilots starting at the end of 2025 and full implementation planned for early 2026. Multiple authentication methods will be available, including mobile apps, national electronic IDs and security keys.
Overall, the Horizon Implementation Day confirmed a clear direction towards simplification, strategic focus and stronger impact orientation in Horizon Europe. For ALICE members active in logistics and supply chain research and innovation, these changes underline the importance of early preparation, robust impact pathways and realistic exploitation strategies when engaging in the upcoming 2026-2027 calls.
ALICE will continue to support its members through information sharing, webinars, brokerage events and coordination tools to facilitate effective participation in Horizon Europe.
