Currently, there are several calls for proposals opened under the Societal Challenge No 1 (SC1), i.e. health, demographic change and well-being. The call deadlines originally planned for mid-April have been postponed to June, i.e. to June 4 and June 18. This extension is a response to the COVID-19 crisis that has severely affected many potential applicants of this topic, to allow more time for proposal preparation.
First, find below some information on a number of actions under the Horizon 2020 Framework Program that the European Commission has already undertaken since the outbreak of a pandemic, e.g.
- 18 projects were selected in the 1st COVID-19 competition, in which several units from Poland participate, including the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Project HERoS) and the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (Project EXSCALATE4CoV),
- ERA vs. Corona Action Plan was launched, which sets out 10 priority short-term coordinated actions to combat coronavirus (link),
- As part of the IMI (Innovative Medicine Initiative) activities, 8 projects were supported with a total budget of EUR 117 million, including one with Polish participation
- EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) launches „EIT crisis response initiative” mobilizing additional 60 mln EUR focused on support towards innovators (link).
As a follow up reaction to the coronavirus pandemic, the EC launched a 2nd COVID-19 call for proposals entitled: “Innovative and rapid health-related approaches to respond to COVID-19 and to deliver quick results for society for a higher level of preparedness of health systems”. It explicitly does not support the development of new diagnostic procedures, therapeutics and vaccines, but rather aims to strengthen the capacity to manufacture and deploying readily available solutions.
The call is structured around 5 thematic areas. The deadline for submitting applications is 11 June. The EC allocates EUR 122 million for this competition under SC1 H2020. More details in the link.
In addition, there will be an on-line session on this call webstream on Wednesday, 20 May. Invitation under the link.
Below there is a selection of topics in the area of Health under H2020, in which aspects of COVID-19 pandemic can be of great social importance.
The call H2020-SC1-BHC-2018-2020 under Better Health & Care (BHC) is implemented through 6 priorities:
- Personalised medicine
- Innovative health and care industry
- Infectious diseases and improving global health
- Innovative health and care systems – Integration of care
- Decoding the role of the environment, including climate change, for health and well-being
- Supporting the digital transformation of health and care.
This call will aim at reconciling better health and healthy ageing with the need to develop sustainable health and care systems and growth opportunities for the health and care related industries. The scope of the call may range from prevention, diagnosis, stratified approaches, predictive toxicology, the development of novel and repurposed therapeutic approaches, including medical technologies and advanced therapies, cohorts and registries-based research, to integration of care and systemic digital solutions for health and ageing well. It aims to translate new knowledge into innovative applications and accelerate large-scale uptake and deployment in different health and care settings, making health and care systems and services more accessible, responsive and efficient in Europe and beyond. To this end, the inclusion of private companies and other innovators in the projects is encouraged.
The current competition covers 21 topics with the deadline for submitting applications on 4th of June. Below is a selection of topics:
- Research & Innovation Actions (RIA)
- Digital diagnostics – developing tools for supporting clinical decisions by integrating various diagnostic data
- Advancing the safety assessment of chemicals without the use of animal testing
- Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) – Prevention and/or early diagnosis of cancer
- Addressing low vaccine uptake
- New approaches for clinical management and prevention of resistant bacterial infections in high prevalence settings
- Creation of a European wide sustainable network for harmonized large-scale clinical research studies for infectious diseases
2. Coordination & Support Actions (CSA)
- Towards a Health research and innovation Cloud: Capitalising on data sharing initiatives in health research
- Actions in support of the International Consortium for Personalized Medicine
- Developing methodological approaches for improved clinical investigation and evaluation of high-risk medical devices
- Reliable and accessible information on cell and gene-based therapies
Call H2020-SC1-DTH-2018-2020 under Digital transformation in Health & Care (DTH) aims at supporting the management of health and well-being while empowering the participation of citizens and facilitating the transformation of health and care services to more digitized, person-centered and community-based care models, thereby enabling better access to healthcare and the sustainability of health and care systems.
Secure and interoperable data as an enabler together with state of the art technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Big Data analytics are essential building blocks for the digital transformation of health and care as addressed by this call. It will contribute to maximizing the potential of the digital economy in the health and care sectors aiming at sustainable development to the benefit of society, environment and citizens.
The current competition covers 6 topics with the deadline for submitting applications on 18th of June. Below is a selection of topics to be implemented as Research & Innovation Actions (RIA):
- Personalized early risk prediction, prevention and intervention based on Artificial Intelligence and Big Data technologies
- International cooperation in smart living environments for ageing people
- Accelerating the uptake of computer simulations for testing medicines and medical devices
Call H2020-SC1-FA-DTS-2018-2020 is implemented through Trusted digital solutions and Cybersecurity in Health & Care (TDS) and it covers 1 topic (RIA) with the deadline for submitting applications on 18th of June: AI for Genomics and Personalised Medicine
If you have any questions or doubts, please reach out to the National Contact Point (NCP) experts in the area of HEALTH. Contact details under the link. Consultation activities across the country are also carried out by the Network of regional NCP offices (link).
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Published: 2020-05-18, updated: 2020-05-20
Author: T. Poprawka
