EUI Innovative Actions 4th Call
Funds innovative urban actions that pilot new approaches to sustainable urban development in EU cities.
Description
About the call
The fourth Call for Proposals of the European Urban Initiative — Innovative Actions (EUI-IA) supports city projects that drive innovation at the local level. Established under Article 12 of the ERDF Regulation, EUI is managed by an Entrusted Entity in Hauts-de-France under DG REGIO supervision. The call has a total ERDF budget of €60 million, with up to €2 million ERDF per project and an 80% co-financing rate. Project implementation must take place within a maximum of 2 years.
Topics
Proposals must address one of six topics:
- Competitiveness, Digitalisation, Innovation and Investment
- Social Inclusion and Equality
- Security, Safety of Public Spaces and Preparedness
- Affordable, Sustainable, Decent Quality, and Inclusive Housing and Buildings
- Climate Action, Environment and Clean Energy
- Mobility
What this means for cities and regions
The most direct large EU grant for cities to test something new at home. Cities with more than 25,000 inhabitants apply with one or more Delivery Partners (other public bodies, academia, businesses, civil society organisations) and a strategic-stakeholder network. The project must propose an innovative, untested-at-this-scale local solution that, if successful, can be replicated by other cities. Open 25 February 2026, closes 15 June 2026. ERDF co-financing of up to 80% requires the applicant to plan 100% of the project budget and secure at least 20% of co-financing from non-EU sources.
Key facts
Submission deadline
15 June 2026, 14:00 CEST
Published
Opens
Programme
Parent call
Total envelope
Per project
Expected grants
Co-funding rate
Eligibility
Eligible countries
Eligible NUTS regions
—Eligible organisation types
Min. consortium size
—Min. partner countries
—Eligibility notes
Who can apply
Lead applicant must be a Main Urban Authority (MUA) representing:
- An urban authority of a local administrative unit, defined according to the degree of urbanisation as city, town or suburb, with at least 25,000 inhabitants; or
- An association or grouping of urban authorities (in the form of an Associated Urban Authority — AUA), with a total of at least 25,000 inhabitants, where the territorial coverage is contiguous
Project partnership
The Main Urban Authority (or AUA) acts as Lead Partner. The project may include:
- One or more Delivery Partners (universities, research centres, businesses, NGOs, social enterprises, etc.)
- A network of Strategic Stakeholders (other public bodies, citizens' organisations, etc.) who do not receive ERDF but participate in the project
Each Partner receiving ERDF must plan 100% of its project budget and secure at least 20% from non-EU sources.
Geographic eligibility
Applicants must be located in EU-27 Member States. The project must be implemented in the territory of the Main Urban Authority.
Restrictions
- Cities under 25,000 inhabitants cannot lead but can participate as Strategic Stakeholders or Delivery Partners
- EUI-IA cannot fund infrastructure projects of routine deployment; the project must propose a genuinely innovative urban solution
- Each project can receive a maximum of €2 million ERDF, with a project implementation period of up to 2 years
- Co-financing rate: up to 80% ERDF; remaining 20% must be secured from non-EU sources
Classification
Thematic domains
Activity types
Space relevance
Tier C — space tools could plausibly support the call but aren't named.
Space services
Sources
EUI-IA-4-MAIN
Ingested May 20th, 2026
Related opportunities
EUI City-to-City Exchanges
Rolling capacity-building support for thematic peer-to-peer exchanges between European cities.
I3 Strand 1 — Interregional Innovation Investments
Supports interregional innovation investments deploying jointly-developed innovation projects across EU regions.
I3 Strand 2a — Less-developed regions
Supports innovation investments led by less-developed EU regions building capacity for inter-regional innovation collaboration.