Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) has launched calls for proposals 9 and 10

Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) in an EU public-private partnership funding health research and innovation. By leveraging the skills of a range of scientific fields - from pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to medical technology and big data - the IHI funds projects that will address public health needs, improve patients’ lives, and boost the competitiveness of Europe’s health industries.

The IHI has launched two calls for proposals.

The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) call 9 invites applicants to identify opportunities in the IHI Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. The applicant-driven approach in IHI call 9 marks a departure from earlier calls, where the challenges to be addressed by applicants were defined in the call texts.

At the same time, IHI is launching IHI call 10, with topics on cutting PFAS in the health sector; making the European Health Data Space (EHDS) a reality; and devising digital labels for medical devices.

IHI call 9 – piloting a novel, applicant driven approach

The call contains five topics, each focusing on one of the five IHI Specific Objectives (SOs) as set out in the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA): 

- Topic 1 (SO1): Boosting innovation for a better understanding of the determinants of health

- Topic 2 (SO2): Boosting innovation through better integration of fragmented health R&I efforts

- Topic 3 (SO3): Boosting innovation for people centred integrated healthcare solutions

- Topic 4 (SO4): Boosting innovation through exploitation of digitalisation and data exchange in healthcare

- Topic 5 (SO5):Boosting innovation for better assessment of the added value of innovative integrated healthcare solutions

For full details of the topics, including the budget breakdown, read the call text. All documents relating to the call can be found via the Funding and Tenders Portal and the IHI call documents page.

The IHI will invest EUR 191 million in call 9; this comes from Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme. IHI is a public-private partnership and the public investment will be matched by contributions from Europe’s health industries. As call 9 is a single-stage call for proposals, applicants will have to identify the right industry partners and ensure that half of their project’s costs are covered by in-kind contributions from IHI’s industry members and (if relevant) IHI contributing partners.

The deadline for call 9 proposals is 29 April 2025 at 17:00 Brussels time.

IHI call 10 - topics on PFAS, health data, and digital labels

Topics:

- Topic 1: Digital label: one source of comprehensive information for medical technology products

- Topic 2: Enabling and safeguarding innovation in secondary use of health data in the European Health Data Space (EHDS)

- Topic 3: Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure, emissions, and end of life management in the healthcare sector.

For full details of the topics, including the budget breakdown, read the call text.

All documents relating to the call can be found via the Funding and Tenders Portal and the IHI call documents page. 

Short proposal submission deadline: 23 April 2025 at 17:00 Brussels time

Full proposal submission deadline: 14 October 2025 at 17:00 Brussels time.

(from IHI’s website)