Cluster 6 — the EU's most strategic research and innovation ecosystem

Partnering for Horizon Europe Success: Building consortia early

How do you build a strong Horizon Europe consortium? Now is the time to begin to plan proposals that are due in September and October, since the Horizon Europe Cluster 6 2026–2027 calls have been announced. We start by connecting the right people, aligning complementary expertise, testing real collaboration potential, and identifying where institutions, SMEs, researchers, municipalities, clusters, NGOs, and technology actors genuinely strengthen one another.

Horizon's Cluster 6 — Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment — continues to be one of the European Union’s most strategically important research and innovation ecosystems, supporting projects connected to:

• biodiversity,

• climate resilience,

• sustainable food systems,

• rural development,

• oceans and waters,

• circular bioeconomy,

• environmental governance,

• digital transition,

• and territorial sustainability.

The scale of opportunity is enormous. The challenge is equally significant. Cluster 6 is highly competitive — and increasingly multi-actor by design. Successful consortia are no longer built around isolated academic excellence alone. Evaluators increasingly expect to see proposals for operational ecosystems and territorial impact. They are looking for implementation realism - neither over-budgeted nor under-budgeted - stakeholder integration, cross-sector cooperation, and demonstrable pathways toward European added value. That means the time to start building consortia is now, not when the SEDIA portal countdown shows three weeks remaining.

The strongest Horizon Europe partnerships are usually formed months in advance through:

• early dialogue,

• ecosystem mapping,

• partner brokerage,

• collaborative concept development,

• and repeated testing of whether organizations actually work well together.

Strong proposals emerge from strong ecosystems, and strong ecosystems are built intentionally. The newly announced Cluster 6 calls for 2026 span seven major thematic “Destinations”:

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services - Topics addressing: ecosystem restoration, biodiversity loss, nature-based solutions, deep-sea conservation, species decline, and environmental resilience.

Fair, Healthy and Environmentally Friendly Food Systems -

• sustainable agriculture,

• organic farming,

• resilient food systems,

• sustainable production,

• competitiveness of the agricultural sector.

Circular Economy and Bioeconomy Sectors - supporting circular bio-based innovation, sustainable resource use, bioeconomy ecosystems, forestry innovation, and regional circularity transitions.

Clean Environment and Zero Pollution focused on pollution reduction, environmental remediation, clean water, healthy soils, and ecosystem protection.

Oceans and Water for Climate Action supporting climate adaptation, marine resilience, water governance, coastal systems, and land-ocean-climate integration.

One of the most interdisciplinary destinations, Resilient, Inclusive, Healthy and Green Rural, Coastal and Urban Communities, focuses on territorial resilience, rural innovation, coastal development, social sustainability, inclusion, and community-based transition ecosystems.

Innovative Governance, Environmental Observation and Digital Solutions include

• geospatial innovation,

• Earth observation,

• digital Green Deal tools,

• environmental intelligence,

• governance ecosystems,

• open-source geospatial services,

• and digital environmental solutions.

This final destination is particularly interesting because it demonstrates how rapidly Horizon Europe is integrating digital transition, GeoAI, environmental data, AI-enabled governance, and interoperable territorial systems into sustainability-oriented research and innovation ecosystems.

The 2026 calls also continue emphasizing co-creation, multi-actor approaches, citizen participation, territorial ecosystems, and implementation-oriented innovation. This means consortia increasingly need participation from the entire multiple helix, working together in credible operational ecosystems:

• researchers,

• municipalities,

• SMEs,

• technology providers,

• educational actors,

• civil society organizations,

• clusters,

• and territorial stakeholders

By assembling partners early in the process, strategic roles, governance logic, work package integration, and impact pathways can be articulated collaboratively. The best Horizon Europe consortia represent ecosystems built deliberately around complementary expertise, aligned values, shared implementation logic, and realistic operational cooperation. The publication of the Cluster 6 calls is, therefore, not simply the beginning of proposal writing season - it is the beginning of ecosystem-building season. Now is the time to:

• identify strategic partners,

• clarify institutional roles,

• map territorial strengths,

• connect research and implementation actors,

• and begin shaping project concepts capable of delivering real European impact.

Because successful Horizon Europe projects are not built at the submission deadline..... they are built in the months before it. Remember:

Strong ideas often fail not because of a concept, but because the right partners are not involved early enough.

Sustainagro aims to build new connections, identify potential partners, and explore opportunities for upcoming Horizon Europe calls. This is an open invitation to join us in new opportunities to contribute to a more sustainable and innovative Europe.