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Horizon Europe Cluster 3 — Civil Security & Disaster Resilience

Horizon Security: Pre-Commercial Procurement

Funds one €5.83M project where public security procurers and practitioners jointly commission and test rival prototypes through a procurement tender.

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Public security agencies need new technology, but most public buying only works for products that already exist. There's rarely a channel for a group of buyers with the same unmet need to commission something new together, and a startup with a real solution struggles to get a first public customer to prove it works. This topic funds fixing that gap directly, not through a normal R&D grant.

The mo

Running a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) process for civil security technology. A buyer's group of at least 3 security practitioners and at least 3 public procurers designs and launches a competitive call for tenders, then pays at least two different R&D teams to design, build, and validate rival prototypes in a real operational environment. The grant funds that tender and the R&D services it buys — not a single company's own product development.

CycleiHow often this grant runs — e.g. annually, on a rolling basis, or a one-off call.Annual
Next deadlineiThe next date applications are due. Rolling means you can apply any time.5 Nov 2026
Decision timeiTypical time from the deadline to the funder's decision.22 weeks
Project durationiHow long the funded work is expected to run.
Award typeiThe form of funding — grant, equity, loan, tax credit, etc.Grant
Match fundingiThe share of project costs you must cover yourself. 0% = fully funded.0%
Funding pooliThe total budget available across all awards in this round.€5.8M

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Last verified: 25 Aug 2026Funder reference: HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-SSRI-02Source: ec.europa.eu