Joint Transnational Call 2026 for the BE READY Partnership: Advancing knowledge of host and pathogens dynamics to better combat emerging diseases

Home Funding Calls for proposals Joint Transnational Call 2026 for the BE READY Partnership: Advancing knowledge of host and pathogens dynamics to better combat emerging diseases Joint Transnational Call 2026 for the BE READY Partnership: Advancing knowledge of host and pathogens dynamics to better combat emerging diseases BE READY NOW Grant Cascade funding Internal navigation General information Submission & evaluation process Further information Task description General Information Opening date 19 January 2026 Deadline model multiple cut-off Deadline dates 13 April 2026 13:00 (Brussels time) 20 August 2026 13:00 (Brussels time) Open For Submission Expected duration of participation - Total funding available 16 400 000,00 € Project acronym BE READY NOW Full name of the EU funded project BE READY NOW - EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP FOR PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS Grant agreement number 101226682 Topic HORIZON-HLTH-2024-DISEASE-12-01 - European partnership for pandemic preparedness Submission & evaluation process Please, for all details on the scope and the requirements of the call, as well as national/regional specific requirements, refer to the full call text published on the BE READY website (link: https://beready4pandemics.eu/joint-transnational-calls/) Show more Further information The aim of this call is to increase scientific understanding and evidence-based knowledge on emerging and re-emerging pathogens with pandemic potential as well as on the host responses triggered by infection in order to improve our capacity to anticipate, prevent and respond to infectious health threats through a multinational, collaborative and interdisciplinary approach that bridges research and development. The scope of the call is primarily addressing Priority 1 of the BE READY Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), Accelerate knowledge in a coordinated and integrative manner, focusing on the proposed Action 1.1 (Increase knowledge on understanding, identifying and addressing therapeutic targets on pathogens) and Action 1.2 (Increase knowledge on pathophysiology). Therefore, proposals are expected to deliver results that are directed towards and contributing to at least one of the following expected outcomes: Identification of novel pathogen-specific molecular targets and mutation hotspots (i.e. discovery of critical proteins, enzymes or signalling molecules that play a central role in pathogen infectivity, survival and/or resistance); Improving the understanding of cross-species (zoonotic) aspects of host–pathogen interactions (in the context of the One Health approach); Application of the “Pathogen X” approach to generate transferable knowledge that can then be applied to other threatening viruses of the same family; Identification, development and optimisation of (new) structures with optimal therapeutic activity and low toxicity that can be potential lead compounds (particularly for vulnerable groups); Identification and validation of targets, alongside data integration, interoperability and modelling efforts to demonstrate the potential of these targets, including antigenic structures suitable for vaccine development, for subsequent therapeutic development (i.e. proof-of-concept studies); Improving data integration and modelling to predict pathogen behaviour and therapeutic susceptibilities; Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying host-pathogen interactions, in humans including host predisposing factors, to guide future diagnostic, therapeutic and vaccine development; Development and improvement of advanced immunological assays, experimental models and preclinical studies that link host genetics to disease outcomes. Proposals should focus exclusively on one or multiple viruses belonging to the families listed below. Proposals addressing global approaches towards a whole family of these pathogens are also feasible. i. Arenaviridae ii. Coronaviridae iii. Filoviridae iv. Flaviviridae v. Hantaviridae vi. Nairoviridae vii. Orthomyxoviridae viii. Paramyxoviridae ix. Phenuiviridae x. Poxviridae xi. Togaviridae xii. “Pathogen X” Beyond the listed research aspects, proposals must demonstrate the following aspects: a) Proposals must be hypothesis-driven and should have a strong emphasis on reliable and rigorous methodology; b) The composition of the consortium must be interdisciplinary, i.e. it is expected that consortia must include partners with expertise from different, relevant disciplines (e.g. basic/pre-clinical research, clinical research, computing science/bioinformatics, veterinary science, Public Health, social and environmental science) to create a broad, thematically diverse research approach in terms of pandemic prevention and response and pathogen spectra. Added value from working together (transnational and interdisciplinary) on the proposed research question(s) must be demonstrated; c) Proposals must take into account sex and gender dimensions, and/or diversity aspects in their research plan/activities. Furthermore, the following aspects for proposal submissions are explicitly encouraged: d) Research questions related to specific populations or vulnerable groups; e) The inclusion of highly innovative methodologies or state of the art technologies in order to advance the development of health innovations; f) Collaboration with the private sector/private entities is encouraged (see Annex A for national/regional eligibility criteria for the funding of industry partners); g) The use of existing cohorts and data sets. Excluded are the following topics / aspects: i. Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens (resistant to antibiotics and antifungal agents). AMR pandemic will be addressed in detail in other networks/organisations such as the European partnership on One Health Antimicrobial Resistance (EUP OHAMR); ii. Research addressing SRIA priority actions 1.3 (Increase knowledge on environmental and social aspects driving pathogen emergence) and 1.4 (Increase knowledge on transmission dynamics and epidemiology); iii. Clinical studies. Eligibility Proposals may be submitted by applicants strictly according to the eligibility criteria laid down in the call documents and the respective national regulations provided as annexes to the call text (link: https://beready4pandemics.eu/joint-transnational-calls/). General conditions for application The duration of the (transnational collaborative) projects is maximum 36 months. Double funding of research projects is not permitted. The Joint Call Secretariat (JCS) and national/ regional funding organisations may perform cross-checks against other funding initiatives managed by the same organisations (both national/regional calls and Joint Transnational Calls). In addition, there can be no double funding for activities already receiving EU funding, e.g. through Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe. To avoid conflicts of interest, staff directly involved in the call implementation are not eligible to apply to this call and must maintain strict confidentiality (Firewall measures) regarding any sensitive/confidential information related to the call. Composition of the transnational consortium Each consortium partner must be eligible to be funded by the respective regional/national participating funding organisation. If a partner is found to be non-eligible at any stage of the process by one of the funding organisations, the entire proposal could be rejected without further review. The consortium must involve a minimum of three (3) consortium partners (including the coordinator), from at least three (3) different eligible countries (including at least two EU Member States or associated countries), whose funding organizations participate in the call (see section 3: list of participating countries). The consortium may not have more than six (6) consortium partners (including external partner (own/in-kind budget)). If the consortium includes an under-represented country[1] or a company[2],the maximum number of project partners can be increased to seven (7) including the coordinator. Per consortium, only one (1) partner can request funding from the same funding organisation. Exceptions may apply, see country- and region-specific guidelines in Annex A. The consortium coordinator cannot be changed between the first and second stage and can coordinate only one (1) submitted proposal. In addition, coordinators can be partner in max. one (1) other project proposal. Consortium partners cannot be involved in more than two (2) research proposals submitted to this call. It is permitted to include one (1) external partner from countries that are not participating in this call, but only if own funding is secured. A signed statement declaring that the external partner will run the project on own resources has to be enclosed in the proposal. The budget of non-funded partners must be included in the proposal (own/In-Kind-budget) and shall not exceed 20% of the requested total transnational project budget. External partners cannot be coordinator of a proposal. They have the same responsibilities as funded partners, i.e. they must accept all BE READY Partnership rules and guidelines as set out in this Call Text. Application procedures There will be a two-stage procedure for the applications: pre-proposals in the first stage and full-proposals in the second stage (only upon invitation to selected pre-proposals). At both stages, one joint proposal document (in English) must be prepared by the consortium and submitted by the project coordinator exclusively through the dedicated submission electronic platform (PT-Outline). Pre-proposals or full-proposals that do not follow the template guidelines will be rejected without further review. Templates and further information on electronic submission are available on the BE READY website and in the pre-proposal template. Applicants must take note of individual regional/national rules, and must contact their regional/national funding organisation if they have any questions in this regard. Indeed, applicants from some regions/countries may be required to submit additional information (in some cases before the deadline of this call) directly to their relevant regional/national funding organisations. Evaluation Eligibility check and evaluation procedure Formal check and evaluation of pre-proposals The JCS will check all proposals to ensure that they meet the call’s formal criteria. In parallel, the JCS will forward the proposals to the national/regional funding organisations, which will perform a check for compliance with national/regional regulations. In case of non-compliance with national/regional regulations the coordinator will be informed by the JCS. Each proposal passing both eligibility checks will be evaluated independently by three (3) reviewers (see evaluation criteria below). Potential conflicts of interest of the evaluators will be taken into consideration during the allocation of the proposals. The reviewers complete a written evaluation form with scores and comments for each evaluation criterion, they will then meet to discuss their evaluations (international peer review expert group meeting, IPEG meeting) and produce a ranking list. Evaluators with a conflict related to a specific proposal will neither be present during nor participate in the discussion of that proposal. The CSC will meet to decide which applicants will be invited to submit a full-proposal based on the reviewers’ ranking list and recommendations and to ensure a reasonable balance of requested and available national/regional budgets. The coordinators of the consortia not selected for full proposal submission will receive a summary review report. The coordinators of the accepted pre-proposals will receive an evaluation summary report, which should be commented in the full proposal template. The list of consortia invited to submit a full-proposal will not be published online. Formal check and evaluation of full-proposals The JCS will check [... συνέχεια στην επίσημη πρόσκληση]