My project fits two clusters. What should I do?

Pick one topic and apply under it: a single proposal addresses exactly one topic. If the subject really is interdisciplinary, look at the horizontal calls in the 2026–2027 programme – they were created for precisely that.

Where do you look for humanities topics?

In Cluster 2 – culture, creativity and inclusive society. It is the smallest cluster by budget, so competition there is high and the window of opportunity is narrower than in the technical clusters.

Pillar 2: Clusters – 6 thematic clusters

In short

The clusters are the six thematic areas of Horizon Europe Pillar 2, funding applied research against specific societal challenges: health; culture and society; civil security; digital, industry and space; climate, energy and mobility; food, bioeconomy and environment. This is where the bulk of consortium calls sits.

Pillar II is the largest part of Horizon Europe by budget, around €47.4bn, and it holds most of the consortium calls. It is divided into six thematic clusters.

The logic here is the opposite of the ERC: you do not propose the topic – the Commission states a challenge, and you argue that your consortium can meet it.

The six clusters

Cluster 1: Health (~€6.9bn) – from prevention and digital medicine to health systems.

Cluster 2: Culture, creativity and inclusive society (~€1.4bn) – the smallest by budget, but the only one open to the humanities, cultural institutions and social research.

Cluster 3: Civil security for society (~€1.3bn) – crime and terrorism, cybersecurity, borders, infrastructure resilience.

Cluster 4: Digital, industry and space (~€13.5bn) – one of the two largest: AI, advanced manufacturing, materials, space.

Cluster 5: Climate, energy and mobility (~€13.5bn) – the other one: decarbonisation, renewables, transport.

Cluster 6: Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment (~€9bn).

How to read a topic

A cluster is not the level you apply at. Clusters split into destinations, those into calls, and calls into topics. The topic determines everything: type of action and funding rate, expected outcomes, budget per project, consortium requirements and deadline.

Two topics in the same cluster can carry different types of action – and therefore different rates and rules. Decisions are made by reading the topic, not the cluster description.

What changed in 2026–2027

Topics are down by roughly a third and single-project topics halved. Half the call budget runs through lump sums. Some short proposals are assessed anonymously.

Horizontal calls also appeared, belonging to no cluster: research for the Clean Industrial Deal and an AI-in-science strand. If your topic is genuinely interdisciplinary, look there too.

Data current as of 27.07.2026. Verify the terms with the donor’s official portal before applying.

Sources

HE Work Programme 2026-2027, General Introduction · 27.07.2026

Updated 27.07.2026 · Reviewed by: GetGrant editorial team

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