DEP Call 10: Accelerating Best Use of Technologies (DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10)

DEP Call 10: Accelerating Best Use of Technologies (DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10)

This is a practical guide to HaDEA’s DEP Call 10: DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10 – Accelerating Best Use of Technologies, currently listed as open on the official HaDEA page for calls for proposals.

The call is designed for applicants that want to scale technology adoption in two distinct directions: health-data-enabled digital public services and child-safe online environments through Safer Internet Centres. It is a single-stage EU call with a stated deadline and is part of the Digital Europe Programme. The call is open as of the checked source snapshot, so now is the moment to decide if your team should apply.

What this opportunity is really about

A common mistake with EU calls is to read the headline and infer the whole project model from it. With this call, you need to treat the heading and topics as separate decision branches.

The main wrapper is DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10, but all funding goes through two topic tracks. Each track has a different problem statement:

1. DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10-EHDS: build capacity to deploy EEHRxF (European Electronic Health Record Exchange Format), and digital health services and systems that support citizen rights and health-data reuse under the European Health Data Space.
2. DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10-NETWORKSICs: expand and strengthen the geography and practical coverage of Network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs), including safety information, awareness tools, and support services.

The call wording puts it clearly as an implementation and scaling program, not a purely conceptual R&D experiment. The strongest applications are usually those that can show practical delivery pathways, not only technical brilliance. This is consistent with HaDEA’s focus in many Digital Europe calls: systems that are already close to impact and can be deployed as a structured public-value solution.

The two topics also sit in different policy neighborhoods. The EHDS topic is strongly linked to health system interoperability and citizen-facing health-data rights. NETWORKSICs is linked to child online safety services, hotline and education channels, and territorial coverage quality. Treating both as one generic “digital project” tends to dilute your proposal.

Why this call matters in 2026/2027 planning cycles

This call is significant for planning teams working on public-sector digital transformation because:

• The publication-to-deadline window is long enough for serious consortium planning and still requires a single coordinated application path.
• The deadlines fall in Q3/early Q4 2026, aligning with budget planning and pilot design cycles for organizations that run annual fiscal planning.
• The budgets are topic-specific and meaningful enough to support substantial implementation work rather than only early prototypes.
• The Health Data Space topic directly connects to one of the strongest interoperability pressures in Europe: moving from isolated records systems to reusable, citizen-facing data infrastructures.

If your planning calendar was expecting a call in early 2026 and then waiting until 2027, this one can act as a bridge for a second cycle of proposals, especially for teams that can show immediate readiness and governance maturity.

Confirmed call facts you can rely on

From the HaDEA call page, these facts are explicitly confirmed:

• Status: Open. The listing shows the call is currently open.
• Reference: DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10.
• Opening date: 21 April 2026.
• Deadline date: 1 October 2026, 17:00 (Brussels time).
• Model: single-stage submission.
• Programme: Digital Europe Programme (2021/2027).
• Topics: two topic pages listed under the same reference, each with a published budget.
• Budget signal: €14.4m for EHDS track and €10m for NETWORKSICs track.

These are the only hard facts we should treat as confirmed from the listing itself. Everything else—such as required legal forms, beneficiary type, national participation limits, and weighted scoring rules—has to be confirmed in the underlying topic pages and official EC/HaDEA documents opened from the call listing.

Who this call is likely built for

Without overclaiming, the call’s structure indicates it is aimed at applicants that can operate at programmatic scale, not one-off pilots.

Strong fit indicators:

• Organisations with experience deploying digital services in real ecosystems (health systems, public safety infrastructure, civic services).
• Teams capable of aligning technology work with policy goals (citizen rights, data reuse, child safety, and digital awareness).
• Consortia or coordinated delivery groups that can explain operational ownership, project governance, and measurable service outputs.
• Applicants that can provide implementation milestones, training plans, service sustainability, and monitoring outcomes.

Borderline fit to reassess before investing in writing:

• Purely theoretical research projects without implementation pathways.
• One-person applicant structures trying to claim broad policy-level outcomes.
• Teams that cannot demonstrate that they can host shared service components (support desk, data governance, rollout plans, or monitoring processes).
• Programs where final reporting and governance burden is not realistic.

Because this is a European public call, many teams also need to verify national participation rules, funding intensity, and legal eligibility conditions not visible in the short listing. Do that early.

The two topics in practical terms

Topic 1: DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10-EHDS

This topic is explicitly about deploying EHDS-aligned systems. The HaDEA page gives a concise but useful anchor:

• Build capacity to deploy EEHRxF and related digital health services/systems.
• Support citizens’ rights and enable reuse of health data through EHDS.
• Budget line for this topic: €14.4 million.

From a practical perspective, proposals in this area are usually strongest when they include:

• A clear baseline of current data interoperability barriers.
• A delivery architecture that can function across institutions (not just one hospital or lab).
• Data-governance and security controls embedded in the service design.
• A realistic citizen-facing implementation route, not only a backend technical prototype.

Given the topic’s emphasis on rights and reuse, quality criteria often reward clear legal and operational pathways for trust, consent, and service uptake, not only software novelty.

Topic 2: DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10-NETWORKSICs

This topic is explicitly framed as expanding the Network of Safer Internet Centres.

The call text references:

• comprehensive geographical coverage of national SIC networks,
• online safety information and education,
• awareness tools,
• counselling and reporting services through helplines/hotlines,
• target audiences: children and young people, teachers/educators, and parents/carers.

Budget here is €10 million.

To be credible in this topic, teams usually need:

• a clear map of service footprint and coverage gaps,
• partner roles across content, outreach, and operations,
• evidence of how services will be sustained after grant end,
• and measurable outcomes for prevention and safe reporting uptake.

Suggested application strategy (before full writing)

If this is your first serious pass, do not start with narrative text. Do a structured pre-application assessment in this order:

1. Build topic lock-in. Decide which of the two topics is your primary track. Do not split one concept into two weak tracks. The call supports two topics, but successful applications normally win when one topic is clearly primary and the technical design is internally coherent.
2. Map deliverables to public outcomes. For EHDS: map interoperability deliverables to rights/reuse use cases. For NETWORKSICs: map awareness, counselling, and reporting outcomes to child-safety impact.
3. Collect formal documents early. Identify partner approvals, governance statements, and budget assumptions. Delays usually happen before the writing even starts.
4. Draft a feasibility matrix. For each work package, list required internal owner, dependency, and date. If a critical dependency cannot be confirmed by the submission date, treat the proposal as at-risk.
5. Set review checkpoints. Run at least two internal peer reviews: one for technical completeness and one for compliance clarity.

Eligibility and application process: what to verify now

Because the HaDEA landing page confirms the call exists and key metadata but does not enumerate every condition, do not submit before checking the following in the linked official systems:

• Full beneficiary eligibility (entity type, countries, and consortium requirements).
• Maximum funding intensities and eligible costs.
• Minimum work package reporting and audit expectations.
• Signature, declaration, and legal responsibility requirements.
• Whether there are mandatory minimums for consortium composition or partner geography.

You should create a pre-application checklist that includes the following concrete tasks:

• Confirm topic-specific eligibility in the linked EC portal entry before drafting the budget.
• Verify application portal windows and any temporary submission outages.
• Clarify whether your preferred proposal is being submitted as a single or joint applicant structure.
• Confirm data governance assumptions with legal/compliance stakeholders early, especially for EHDS.
• Prepare a realistic communications plan for the target user group.

This is not optional bureaucracy; for EU calls, eligibility and required formalities are often the fastest reason for automatic desk rejection.

Preparation checklist by timeline

With a 1 October 2026 deadline, this is a manageable but disciplined calendar.

Now through June 2026

• Select the target topic and lock scope.
• Build a preliminary execution model and governance map.
• Confirm that your consortium has a legal entity that can own lead responsibilities.

July to August 2026

• Prepare measurable output indicators.
• Finalize budget logic and in-kind versus financed components.
• Confirm support letters and compliance sign-offs.

September 2026

• Freeze draft application and start formal compliance pass.
• Validate every required section against the F&T topic text.
• Run a dry submission test if the portal provides one.

Final days

• Submit well before final midnight CEST threshold.
• Keep an internal backup package with final signed versions, annexes, and proof artifacts.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Using generic EU language without topic specificity. Judges can tell a non-targeted narrative immediately.
2. Treating EHDS and NETWORKSICs as interchangeable. They have different outcomes and evidence needs.
3. Ignoring implementation details. A technically attractive project without rollout milestones is usually weak.
4. Underestimating governance and compliance workload. Data-use and public safety topics both carry policy accountability burden.
5. Waiting until final week for eligibility validation. Eligibility mismatches can cost the entire cycle.
6. Submitting late to the portal window. The listed deadline is firm and single-stage.

What reviewers are likely looking for

Reviewers for this class of HaDEA/Digital Europe call usually evaluate:

• Fit to topic intent: clear link between proposed activities and the stated objectives.
• Feasibility: realistic timeline, manageable dependencies, implementation team.
• Governance and responsibility: who owns each function, who reports, and how risks are managed.
• Potential for measurable public value: quality indicators and user outcomes.
• Sustainability beyond grant duration: long-term operating logic.
• Evidence quality: proof of readiness and prior delivery competence.

For EHDS proposals, “citizen rights and reuse of health data” is not only a policy phrase; it implies that privacy, legal confidence, and process clarity must appear as explicit design conditions, not just conceptual references.

FAQ

Is this call currently open?

The HaDEA listing was checked as open in the current snapshot.

Is this a closed-2026 call?

No, the listing shows a future deadline of 1 October 2026.

Is there one topic or two?

It is one call reference (DIGITAL-2026-BESTUSE-10) with two linked topics.

Are there per-topic budgets?

Yes. EHDS is listed at €14.4m and NETWORKSICs at €10m.

Can an applicant choose either topic?

Yes, in principle, by selecting the relevant topic in the official application context. Confirm exact submission constraints in the full topic pages.

Is this a recurring series?

The page is framed as a DEP call for 2026. If you miss this deadline, monitor the next cycle on HaDEA and Funding & Tenders for relaunch patterns.

Official links and next operational step

To proceed responsibly, use the official links below:

• Official HaDEA call page: https://hadea.ec.europa.eu/calls-proposals/dep-call-10-accelerating-best-use-technologies_en
• HaDEA calls directory: https://hadea.ec.europa.eu/calls-proposals/
• EC Funding & Tenders portal (topic entry context): https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/

From a practical standpoint, the best immediate next step is simple:

1. Open the HaDEA call page and copy all required metadata into a local tracker.
2. Open each topic page from the call details and extract full eligibility and document rules.
3. Finalize which of the two topics you are pursuing and prepare one coherent concept note first.

That final note should answer, in one page: what problem you solve, who you serve, what output you deliver, what proof you provide, and what cannot be achieved without the grant.

If either the EHDS or safer internet evidence stack is not yet strong, do not force the application. Pause, build a pilot proof package, and return in the next aligned cycle.