Executive Playbook · 2026 Tender & Funding Blueprint

A new budget.
AI-native velocity.

Most large EU companies pay 100% of their software R&D from their own P&L — while a parallel universe of Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, CEF, RRF, Eurostars, and sovereign co-investment would cover 40%–70% of the same scope. We open that second budget, deliver at AI-native velocity, and stay with you from preparation through audits.

€14bn
Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026–27
40–70%
Typical co-funding coverage for the same R&D scope
7
Stage gates from target to award
14d
To your first route paper
§ The thesis

The cheapest software a large company can build is the one Europe, a research partner or a sovereign fund co-finances.

Digital One · Operating thesis

Every engagement we jointly shape starts from the same commercial observation. Large EU companies pay 100% of their software R&D and new-service development out of their own P&L — while Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, CEF, RRF, Eurostars, Turkic-States, and complementary routes like Innovation Fund or InvestEU would cover 40%–70% of the same scope, if the right consortium were built around them.

We bring two value streams, stacked on top of each other. The pursuit stream opens a second budget through corporate procurement, grant consortia, or hybrid routes. The technology stream layers AI-native software engineering and testing on top — with our own delivery team, under Digital One's methodological supervision.

We stay beside you through the full lifecycle — from preparation, through bid elaboration and go-live, into live operations, and all the way to post-award audits. A strategic software capability arrives ahead of budget and ships at AI-native velocity.

§ Funding calculator

See the second budget. Before you write the bid.

Move the slider, pick the project shape, and the calculator maps which EU and sovereign sources fit — with realistic funding rates and minimum ticket sizes. Sources that don't fit get locked out, so you see the real shortlist, not an aspirational one.

Rough indicative estimates · rates vary by call, country, TRL and consortium shape · not a formal offer
Your work-package budget
€1,000,000

The eligible costs you'd commit to the project (staff, engineering, data, pilot). Grant sources top this up.

€50K €500K €1M €5M €10M
Project type
Consortium readiness
Geographic scope
Extra capital you could unlock — blended estimate
~€620,000
On top of your commitment. Grants reimburse eligible costs (lowering your net outlay); matching routes add capital on top. Averaged across routes that fit your profile.
€1,000,000
Best-case single route
5/7
Eligible sources for this shape
§ The funding universe

Seven routes. One coherent map.

Program sizes and indicative rates for the active 2026–2027 window. We choose the route before writing the bid — not after.

Horizon Europe
€14bn

Work Programme 2026–27. Collaborative R&D and pilot-intensive digital / industrial calls. IA funds large companies at 70%, RIA at 100%. Adopted December 2025.

Digital Europe
€1.3bn

2025–27 window. AI, cybersecurity, cloud/data, advanced digital skills, deployment actions. Typically 50% for large companies, higher for specific cyber calls.

CEF Digital
€865m

Connecting Europe Facility, 2nd Work Programme. Connectivity, edge, transport corridors, smart-community software. Infrastructure-scale tickets.

RRF
€672bn

Recovery & Resilience Facility. National recovery plans with a minimum 20% digital pillar. Country-specific routes, active through 2026 disbursement.

Eurostars-3
65%

Market-oriented R&D. SME-led consortium with large-company partners at country-specific rates — up to 65% industrial research, up to 40% experimental development. Next deadline March 2026.

Turkic Invest. Fund
$600m

1:1 matching co-investment across 6 member states (Azerbaijan, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Türkiye, Uzbekistan). For every €1 you commit, the fund matches €1. Small tickets via partner-bank channels in member states; larger direct deals. Operations launched April 2026. Digital infrastructure and ICT in scope.

Complementary routes — Innovation Fund, InvestEU, EIC (SME-only), national matching — sit on top of this map and are chosen case by case.

§ How it works

Seven stage gates. One submission rhythm.

By the time the gates start, the funding route is chosen and the AI-native delivery kit is ready. The Principal Tender Supervisor owns readiness; the Client-selected Tender Coordination Company owns formal submission.

G0
Target
One-page account card, sponsor hypothesis
G1
Discovery
Discovery memo, win-capability score
G2
Route
Route paper — procurement, grant or hybrid
G3
Consortium
Partner map, roles, work-package drafts
G4
Launch
Commercial logic, joint launch commitment
G5
Submit
Compliance matrix, upload package
G6
Mobilise
Negotiation pack, staffing ramp-up
§ The team with you

Five roles. Clean separation.

Bids drift when ownership drifts. Every role is named to a person on day one — and the client-facing lead is deliberately never the same person as the Principal Tender Supervisor.

01 Digital One
Blueprint owner & supervisor
Owns methodology, stage-gate discipline, and governance coherence end-to-end. Anchors pursuit method and talent architecture.
02 Digital One
AI-native engineering & testing
Full technology build — architecture, development, testing, CI, QA — accelerated with AI-native tooling. Sprint-based delivery through go-live.
03 Digital One
Principal Tender Supervisor
Tender elaboration, bid roadmap, work-package shaping, partner guidance, and audit readiness before submission. Named per pursuit.
04 Client
Sponsor & budget owner
Owns the business problem, internal access, data and pilot environment, co-funding appetite, and executive commitment.
05 Client selects
Tender Coordination Co.
Formal submission calendar, document control, portal actions, declarations, and final upload. We advise — the decision is yours.

A second budget.
AI-native velocity.
Your first route paper
is two weeks away.

We arrive prepared: funding routes mapped, consortium shape tested, Principal Tender Supervisor named, and the AI-native engineering kit built. The first thirty days tailor all of this to your R&D agenda.

Digital One — Dublin
info@digital1.one
6-9 Trinity Street, Dublin 2
Fast-track
Existing partners reach the route paper in days.