The call for applications for funding related to the European partnership for a sustainable Future of Food Systems (FutureFoodS) partnership programme for 2025 is open.
FutureFoodS is a European Partnerships programme funded by the Horizon Europe programme. FutureFoods' goal is to make Europe's food production and consumption more sustainable and flexible. The FutureFoodS partnership is one of eight co-funded partnerships launched by the Commission under Horizon Europe's Cluster 6 to promote the green and digital transitions.
The FutureFoodS partnership focuses on further processing, trade and food consumption. The vision of the FutureFoodS partnership is to jointly achieve environmentally friendly, socially safe and fair, economically viable, healthy and safe food systems in Europe by 2050. The themes of the programme cover a wide range of the complex challenges facing our food systems, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and food security.
The impact of the FutureFoodS partnership is created by combining different activities, such as case studies, research, innovation, policy and education, with joint international research and innovation proposals (R&I) with four themes:
- Change the way we eat
- Change the way we process and supply food
- Change the way we connect with food systems
- Change the way we govern food systems
Read more:
The EC Funders and Tenders portal
Applying for funding?
The call provides funding for a wide range of European research and development projects focusing on a sustainable food chain. The text of the call and the thematic application modules have been published on the European partnership for a sustainable Future of Food Systems website, Submission platform.
The topic chosen should be clearly indicated in the proposal:
- Domestic food practices for enhancing sustainable and healthy diets
- Towards diverse, sustainable and circular food processing systems
- Importance of trust and transparency
The Future FoodS partnership has two project types for which the consortium's applications must be suitable:
- Exploratory Research Project, shall advance the state-of-the-art of scientific knowledge in multiple academic fields related to food sustainability, ranging from ground research developing new theoretical understandings on food sustainability transitions to more applied research aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes, tools or services. Such projects may range from theory development to proof of concept, essentially in an academic or laboratory setting. For projects focusing on technical advancements these would cover the stages 3 to 5 according to the TRL scale1. Applications should provide an assessment of the expected impacts that the project may have for food systems transformation and should embrace multi-stakeholder engagement and inter- and transdisciplinarity following the guiding elements for FutureFoodS food systems approach.
- Accelerating Innovation Project, is targeting research and innovation activities related to new sustainable food practices, services, products and processes that are ready for practical application in real life settings. These projects aim at developing and up-scaling science-based solutions in industry, policy and society and corresponding to stages 6 to 8 in the TRL scale (if applicable). For more technically oriented innovations, besides technical feasibility other aspects such as market acceptance, regulatory compliance, market potential analysis and business models, could be considered. We encourage applications that address a wide range of types of innovations, including those that address social needs and improve societal well-being of all/specified consumer groups, those that contribute to new business practices or more efficient relationships between food system actors or those that develop new marketing strategies, including changes in product design, packaging, or pricing models. Applications should provide an assessment of the expected impacts that the project may have for food systems transformation including expected gains and added value for end users when applying the proposed solutions.
Finnish parties can apply for funding from the Finnish Innovation Funding Agency Business Finland or the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to participate in a joint European project.
Finnish applicants must specify in the FutureFoodS application portal whether they want to apply for funding from Business Finland or the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Call procedures
The co-funded call is conducted as a two-step-procedure:
- STEP Pre-proposal phase
- STEP Full-Proposal phase
Deadline for pre-proposals is 11th of February 2026, 13:00:00 CET
Deadline for full-proposals is 27th of July 2026, 13:00:00 CEST
Proposals that are not submitted within the submission system on time will not be considered for evaluation and will be rejected.
Step 1:
The first phase of the letters of intent will open on 3 December, 2025.
Letters of intent must be submitted to the FutureFoodS application portal by 11.2.2026 at 13:00 CET.
Please contact the contact persons of Business Finland and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry well in advance of submitting your letter of intent.
Step 2:
Actual funding applications
Only the parties invited to proceed on the basis of a letter of intent can participate in the second phase and submit the actual funding applications.
The invited parties must submit the actual applications to both the FutureFoodS portal and Business Finland's online service by 27.7.2026 at 13:00 CEST.
Failure to comply with the deadline will result in the rejection of the application.
Info session
Call information event: Webinar for applicants – FutureFoodS on 11 December, 2025 at 11:00 am Thu 13:00 CET
Webinar password: FbUrdDBc264 (32873322 when dialing from a phone or video system)
Webinar ID: 2780 381 0835
Business Finland funding
Business Finland can fund all the themes and project types of the call. In addition to the criteria and conditions of the european call, the applicants and projects to be funded must meet the criteria and conditions for Business Finland's funding.
The projects to be financed must create conditions for strengthening the international competitiveness of companies, renewal and significant new export business.
Projects must create obvious added value from international cooperation.
Funding from Business Finland Business Finland is prepared to fund the participation of Finnish parties in joint projects with approximately EUR 2 million in the 2025 call.
Business Finland follows the international evaluation results of the 2nd call for funding related to the European partnership for a sustainable Future of Food Systems (FutureFoodS) partnership programme in the selection of projects to be funded.
The implementation period of projects can be up to 36 months.
Consortium
Consortia are required to be international, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral. Applicants must be from at least 3 countries in one consortium. The share of any country's consortium in terms of man-months may not exceed 60% of the entire consortium's share.
Finnish parties to the consortium
Finnish companies and research organisations can participate in the call as part of an European consortium.
We encourage companies seeking international growth, including SMEs, that have sufficient capacity and resources to participate in the European research consortia in the call.
The entire consortium must meet the European and Business Finland funding criteria for the call. Only some of the European funders in the call can provide funding to companies.
Research organisations
Business Finland can fund joint projects of Finnish research organisations and companies as part of the European consortium with the following funding services:
Co-Innovation
- Learn about funding and requirements: Co-Innovation
- Exceptionally, one Finnish research organisation and one Finnish company with their parallel project, as well as two other companies funding a research project of a Finnish research organisation, are sufficient to form a Co-Innovation consortium.
- Exceptionally, a wellbeing services county/university hospital and one Finnish company with its own project are sufficient to form a Co-Innovation consortium. Read more about the funding and requirements: Funding for university hospitals
Co-Research
- Learn more about funding and requirements: Co-Research
- If one or more Finnish research organisations apply for Business Finland funding without Finnish companies applying for Business Finland funding with their parallel project, Co-Research funding will be used as the form of funding.
- A Co-Research research application requires at least three (3) Finnish companies to provide at least 5% of the project's total budget.
The funding terms of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Companies
Finnish companies can participate in consortia either alone or together with other Finnish applicants. Business Finland finances companies as part of a European consortium with companies' R&D funding.
Learn more about the funding and requirements:
Research, development, piloting for SMEs and midcaps
Research, development, piloting for large companies
The companies participating in the application must have the prerequisites for continuous profitable operations and must not have tax debts. In addition, the company must demonstrate sufficient financial resources and capabilities to participate in the application process with its own project.
The funding is a grant.
The level of funding of the companies is assessed and determined during the application process based on the share of the project's industrial research costs.
If at least two Finnish companies apply for R&D funding, the application must be submitted using the Co-Innovation application form.