Issue #2 · Monday 5 October 2026
Real money this week: up to €75k per grant
Hi there,
This week: five calls with real money on the table, from €20k to €75k per grant, where organisations from our region can apply on their own or lead. Plus a €2M call that lists the Western Balkans but isn't open to you, and what to start planning now.
| 5 calls scored |
Up to €75k per grant |
1 eligibility trap |
■ GO ■ MAYBE ■ TRAP · The score rates practical fit for a typical small or medium organisation in the region, not the odds of winning.
Coverage: Albania, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine.
| 01 / Best bets this month · Strong fit, deadline in 4–5 weeks
|
|
All 9 covered countries
| 01 |
EIT Culture & Creativity: Skills-based CPD Courses |
Training providers can lead alone
|
Who
Universities, VET providers and accredited training organisations (alone), or up to 3 partners from 2+ countries led by an education organisation
|
Money
Up to €75,000 per project, 75% funded (25% co-funding). About 8 projects, €600k total
|
|
Effort
Medium
|
Consortium
Optional
|
Online, self-paced courses in English for cultural and creative professionals: IP and rights, AI in audiovisual production, digital storytelling. At least 30% of learners must come from RIS countries.
|
RADAR TAKE
The strongest fit this week for training centres and education NGOs in the region. You can apply alone, and the 30% RIS-learner rule plays to your strengths because you already reach that audience. Budget the 25% co-funding honestly and keep the course tightly on one of the three strands.
|
✓ VERIFIED 29 SEP 2026
|
|
Moldova + 4 Ukrainian oblasts
| 02 |
IMPACT NETWORKS: grants for Moldova–Ukraine cross-border cooperation |
For hubs, clusters and development agencies
|
Who
Cluster organisations, digital innovation hubs and regional development agencies. Each project pairs one Moldovan and one Ukrainian partner of the same type (Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia or Odesa oblast)
|
Money
Up to €50,000 per project, 100% funded. About 8 grants, €400k total
|
|
Effort
Medium
|
Consortium
Required (MD + UA pair)
|
Cross-border cooperation on competitiveness and digital, projects of 6–10 months. EU-funded (EUroBRIDGE_UA_MD), implemented by CMDA Chișinău.
|
RADAR TAKE
Only a narrow group can apply, and that's exactly why it's worth it: no co-financing and a small pool of eligible applicants. The hard part is the partner, who must be the same type as you and based in one of four oblasts. If you already know one, start this week. If not, ask the implementer whether they can point you to interested organisations.
|
✓ VERIFIED 29 SEP 2026
|
|
Open worldwide · all 9 eligible
| 03 |
NLnet: NGI Restack and CodeSupply funds |
Short form, open-source work only
|
Who
Anyone: individuals, NGOs, public bodies and companies of any size
|
Money
€5,000–€50,000 per project, can grow in later rounds
|
|
Effort
Low
|
Consortium
Not required
|
Open-source internet infrastructure, security and the software supply chain (Next Generation Internet, funded by the European Commission). AI projects are excluded except in stated cases.
|
RADAR TAKE
The best effort-to-money ratio this week for tech NGOs and small software firms: a short form and no consortium. The catch is that everything you build must be released as free and open source, so it suits public-interest tools rather than a commercial product.
|
✓ VERIFIED 29 SEP 2026
|
| 02 / Worth planning · Narrower profile or later deadline
|
|
All 9 · widening countries
| 04 |
Women TechEU: €75k equity-free grants for women-led deep-tech startups |
Women-led deep-tech startups
|
Who
Women-led deep-tech startups registered 6 months to 5 years ago, under €1M raised, TRL 4–6, women holding at least 25% of shares
|
Money
€75,000 lump sum, equity-free. 16 grants per cut-off reserved for widening countries
|
|
Effort
Medium
|
Consortium
Not required
|
Deep tech, including AI and digital. There is a separate eligibility check first (weekly Tuesday cut-offs), then the full proposal.
|
RADAR TAKE
If you run or support a women-led deep-tech startup, this is one of the few €75k grants with seats reserved for our region. Don't leave the eligibility check to January: it's a separate step, and you can't submit the full proposal without passing it.
|
✓ VERIFIED 29 SEP 2026
|
|
All 9 · Horizon associated
| 05 |
EIT Culture & Creativity: Innovation Projects 2026 (Stage 1) |
| 3/5 · MAYBE |
DEADLINE 30 OCT
|
Only with a product already working in the field
|
Who
Single startups, scaleups, SMEs or larger companies in fashion, architecture or audiovisual
|
Money
€20,000 lump sum in Stage 1 (up to 30 projects), then up to €900,000 in Stage 2 (about 11 projects, 70% funded)
|
|
Effort
Medium
|
Consortium
Not required (Stage 2: 2–3 partners)
|
Innovation in three creative sub-sectors, including responsible AI and IP monetisation. The solution must already be at TRL 7 (demonstrated in an operational environment).
|
RADAR TAKE
Stage 1 is a paid planning stage: €20k to prepare a bid for up to €900k. Worth it only if you already have a working product in fashion, architecture or audiovisual. Everyone else should skip it.
|
✓ VERIFIED 29 SEP 2026
|
| 03 / Eligibility trap · Catching these is half our job
|
|
⚠ ELIGIBILITY TRAP · LOOKS OPEN. ISN'T. |
|
Five named regions only €750k–€2.2M per project · Deadline 16 Nov 2026
| 06 |
SYSTEMEU open call: interregional innovation projects (I3) |
Why it's a trap: The call is promoted with a "Western Balkans" region on its list, and the per-project money is large. But the rules say beneficiaries must be consortia located in one of five named regions: Bavaria, Norte, Castilla y León, Romania and Tuzla Canton. None of our nine covered countries is on that list, and in the Western Balkans only Tuzla Canton (Bosnia and Herzegovina) qualifies.
Radar take: Don't spend time on this one. A region on the list isn't the same as your country being eligible. Always look for the named territories in the call text.
✓ VERIFIED 29 SEP 2026
|
| 04 / Also on the radar · Not scored this week
|
POLICY ENLARGE small grants · Built only for enlargement countries: up to €8k for joint R&I or tech-transfer actions (2+ partners from 2 enlargement countries), €5k for mobility. Next rounds May and Nov 2027. Deadline 12 Nov · Details →
EIT Culture & Creativity: Shape Acceleration / Scale · Startups and scaleups in cultural and creative sectors: up to €100k (Shape) or up to €500k for RIS countries (Scale). Closing soon. Deadline 12 Oct · Details →
CERV DAPHNE: preventing gender-based violence · Outside our four sectors, but NGOs from AL, XK, ME, MK, RS, MD and UA can lead; €200k–€600k, 90% funded. Deadline 3 Nov · Details →
| 05 / Coming up · Start planning now
|
Western Balkans Fund: Empowering Regional Cooperation Grants · The Fund's largest scheme, announced for this autumn. The last round paid up to €30k to civil society organisations · Details →
Kosovo–North Macedonia cross-border programme, 2nd call · The concept note is being finalised. The previous call covered environment and SME competitiveness · Details →
Horizon Europe Excellence Hubs (HORIZON-WIDERA-2027-04) · €1.5–4.5M per project, deadline 4 Mar 2027. Needs universities, business, public authorities and civil society from 2+ widening countries, so build the consortium now · Details →
Erasmus+ 2027 capacity building (VET and higher education) · Calls are usually published in November with deadlines in February–March. Consortia form in Q4
| 06 / Deadline radar · Next 45 days
|
| 12 OCT |
EIT C&C Shape / Scale
Startups and scaleups · all 9
|
– |
| 20 OCT |
GOTOTWIN experiments
AL · ME · MK · RS (not XK)
|
3/5 |
| 22 OCT |
Perform Europe
Creative Europe countries (not TR)
|
– |
| 28 OCT |
COST Open Call
All covered countries (XK: check status)
|
3/5 |
| 30 OCT |
EIT C&C CPD Courses
All 9
|
4/5 |
| 30 OCT |
EIT C&C Innovation Projects
All 9
|
3/5 |
| 31 OCT |
IMPACT NETWORKS
Moldova + 4 UA oblasts
|
4/5 |
| 3 NOV |
NLnet Restack / CodeSupply
Worldwide
|
4/5 |
| 3 NOV |
CERV DAPHNE
AL · XK · ME · MK · RS · MD · UA
|
– |
| 12 NOV |
POLICY ENLARGE
Enlargement countries only
|
– |
|
◎ RADAR TIP
Look beyond EU programmes to EU-funded projects. Many Horizon, EIT and Interreg projects pass money on to smaller organisations through their own open calls (often called cascade funding or FSTP): shorter forms, €5k–€100k, and often seats reserved for widening countries. Most of this week's picks work exactly this way.
|
|
CORRECTIONS & NOTES
• Serbia and COST: Issue #1 said Serbia takes part in COST on different terms. That was wrong: Serbia is a full COST member and an Inclusiveness Target Country, like Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.
• COST score: under our scoring rules, COST is 3/5 MAYBE, not GO: the money covers networking only and a consortium is required.
• Privacy policy updated on 28 September: we added our email provider (Zoho Mail, EU data centre). Nothing changes for you.
|
Not sure whether a call fits your organisation? Reply with your country and organisation type, and we'll tell you what to watch.
Forward this to a colleague who writes proposals. They can join free at accessionradar.com. |