Call CREA-CROSS-2026-INNOVLAB – Creative Innovation Lab

BENEFICIARY ENTITIES

• Public or private entities legally established in countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme (EU Member States and associated countries).

• Eligible applicants include consortia (minimum of 1 or 2 beneficiaries, depending on the project) or individual applications.

• Eligible entities include companies, tech start-ups, cultural and creative organisations, incubators, and business accelerators.

• Organisations without legal personality may be accepted only in exceptional cases, provided they offer equivalent guarantees.

GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

• Countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme (EU Member States, EEA countries, and third countries associated with the Programme).

ELIGIBLE ACTIONS

• Development, testing, and dissemination of innovative tools, models, or solutions applicable to the audiovisual sector and at least one other sector (music, books, museums).

• Cross-sectoral cooperation to:

  • Promote the use of virtual worlds (metaverses) for European cultural content.

  • Create innovative business tools for production, financing, distribution, and promotion (AI, big data, blockchain, NFT).

  • Strengthen transparency and fair remuneration for creators and artists.

  • Improve data collection and analysis for audience development.

  • Adopt environmentally sustainable practices in the audiovisual and other cultural sectors.

• Proposals must clearly demonstrate a cross-sectoral approach and the expected benefits for the sectors involved.

MINIMUM MATURITY REQUIREMENTS

• Demonstration of the project’s technical and economic feasibility.

• Sustainability and inclusion strategy (gender, diversity, accessibility).

• Proven operational and financial capacity of participants.

• Complete submission of required forms and annexes via the Funding & Tenders Portal.

SPECIFIC CONDITIONS

• Maximum project duration: 24 months.

• Funding based on actual costs, with the possibility of financial support to third parties (up to €60,000 per funded project).

• Compliance with EU ethical and legal standards (projects containing racist, pornographic, or violent content are excluded).

• Projects scoring at least 70 points are eligible for funding.

• Evaluation based on four criteria:

  • Relevance (40 pts)

  • Quality of activities (40 pts)

  • Management (10 pts)

  • Dissemination (10 pts)

ELIGIBLE COSTS

• Personnel costs (salaries, consultants, SME owners, etc.).

• Subcontracting.

• Travel and accommodation expenses (unit costs).

• Equipment and software (depreciation).

• Financial support to third parties (up to €60,000).

• Indirect costs (flat rate of 7% of eligible direct costs).

• Non-deductible VAT.

• Non-eligible costs include:

  • Promotional or advertising content.

  • Cultural events.

  • Commercial audiovisual productions.

  • Encyclopaedic or pedagogical works.

  • E-learning initiatives.

  • Projects containing inappropriate material (pornographic, racist, or violent).

ELIGIBILITY PERIOD

• From the project start date set in the Grant Agreement (not earlier than the application submission date) until the end of the contractual duration (max. 24 months).

IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD

• Up to 24 months, extendable upon justified request approved by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).

SUPPORT

• Fund: Creative Europe Programme (Cross-sectoral Strand).

• Co-financing rate: up to 80% of eligible costs.

• Grant based on actual costs (including unit cost and flat-rate components).

• Initial pre-financing of approximately 50% of the approved amount.

• Total funding: not limited (subject to evaluation results and available budget).

CALL BUDGET

• €7,021,561, subject to the final approval of the EU budget for 2026.