Visegrad+ Grants 2026

Visegrad+ Grants 2026

The International Visegrad Fund’s Visegrad+ Grants call is designed for projects that contribute to democratization and transformation in selected Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries. The official call page announces the next 2026 application window: it opens on 1 September 2026 at 12:00 PM and closes on 1 October 2026 at 12:00 PM. Results are scheduled for 21 December 2026 at 12:00 PM. This is an announced upcoming round, not a currently open application period.

The opportunity is relevant to NGOs and civil-society organisations, public institutions and municipalities, private companies and nonprofit organisations, and education or research centres that can build a genuine regional project. A Visegrad country connection by itself is not enough. The proposal must show why the partners need one another, what each will do, and how the work will benefit communities in the Western Balkans or Eastern Partnership region.

Key details at a glance

Current status and timing

The previous application window has ended. The Fund’s current Visegrad+ page has announced the next round rather than leaving applicants to guess whether another call will appear. At the time of this update, the page says the call opens on 1 September 2026 at noon. The final deadline is 1 October 2026 at noon, and the Fund lists 21 December 2026 at noon for the results announcement.

That timing gives a consortium a defined preparation period before the submission window. The application system is not a substitute for preparation: partner roles, the project logic, outputs, budget, and regional benefit should be agreed before the form is completed. If you need feedback from a Fund project manager, the official page allows up to two consultations per project idea, by appointment, and says consultations must occur no later than 14 days before the application deadline.

The official page links the grant guidelines, a screen version of the guidelines, an application-form template, and the Fund’s recommendations for applicants and grantees. Use those materials as the controlling instructions when the form opens. This page is a practical summary, not a replacement for the Fund’s rules.

What this opportunity is and what it is not

This is a partnership grant, not a scholarship, individual award, or ordinary procurement contract. The program supports projects that:

• develop meaningful cooperation between V4 organisations and partners from the Western Balkans or Eastern Partnership,
• address one concrete objective within one of the seven published focus areas,
• are implemented in the target region or strongly affect local communities there, and
• can be delivered within a maximum implementation period of 18 months.

The Fund explicitly warns that simply adding a project partner or applicant from an eligible region does not automatically make a proposal a Visegrad+ project. Regional added value must be visible in the activities, outputs, responsibilities, and intended beneficiaries. A partner should have a defined task and a reason to be involved, not just a logo on the consortium page.

Who should apply

Strong-fit applicants

• NGOs and civil-society groups working on civic participation, education, media, youth, culture, inclusion, or local development.
• Universities, research units, and education networks with a joint knowledge, mobility, or capacity-building project.
• Public institutions, municipalities, and local groups that can cooperate across borders on a defined regional problem.
• Innovation, entrepreneurship, and social-enterprise organisations with a practical exchange, policy, or network-building project.
• Consortia that can name an accountable coordinator, assign specific work to every partner, and finish within 18 months.

Applicants who should pause and re-evaluate

• Organisations that have no eligible consortium or no credible activity in the EaP or Western Balkans.
• Teams proposing a domestic project with an added international partner but no regional benefit.
• Applicants whose partners cannot take on specific tasks or demonstrate relevant experience.
• Proposals that need more than 18 months to deliver their promised outputs.

The Fund’s criteria point toward a project with visible cooperation and local relevance, not a generic international claim. A strong concept can be modest in scale if the regional roles and expected benefit are clear.

Eligibility and consortium architecture

The official conditions give applicants a clear consortium starting point. Use the relevant format before drafting the narrative, then test every activity against the partner responsible for delivering it.

Base format and exceptions

The base consortium requirement is:

• 3×V4 + 1×EaP/WB6

That means at least three organisations from three different Visegrad countries—Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia—and at least one organisation from an Eastern Partnership or Western Balkan country. The official page lists the Eastern Partnership countries as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The Western Balkan group is Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

If the applicant is based in EaP or WB6, the form can change to:

• 2×V4 + 2×EaP/WB6

This means at least two organisations from two different V4 countries and at least two organisations from two EaP or WB6 countries, including the applicant. The additional EaP or WB6 partner must be from a country different from the applicant. This option is intended for applicants rooted in the target regions while preserving substantial Visegrad participation.

For Ukrainian applicants, the page states an additional exception:

• 1×UA + 2×V4

Under this exception, a Ukrainian applicant can apply with two partners, each from a different V4 country, without involving another EaP or WB6 country. Do not assume that this exception applies to every consortium with a Ukrainian participant; check the applicant’s status and the current Fund wording when preparing the form.

Regional and impact requirements

Projects should be implemented in the EaP or Western Balkans region and/or have a strong impact on local communities in at least one of those countries. In practice, the proposal should make clear:

• which local communities or institutions benefit;
• which activities occur in, with, or for those communities;
• which partner is responsible for each regional task; and
• how the project’s outputs will be useful beyond a single meeting or exchange.

Project duration and budget logic

The maximum project implementation period is 18 months. A proposal should distinguish preparation, delivery, and follow-up inside one feasible workplan. If the underlying idea needs a multi-year programme, describe only the defined phase that the grant can support rather than promising an unfunded continuation.

The Fund states that grants can cover up to 100% of the project budget, with a maximum of 15% of the requested sum for overheads. The official page also lists typical grants of €25,000–€35,000. “Typical” is a planning reference, not a guaranteed award, so build the proposal around the outputs the consortium can deliver at the requested amount.

Full possible coverage does not remove the need for a disciplined budget. Prepare:

• cost estimates connected to concrete outputs;
• a clear explanation of who incurs each cost and why;
• a separate check that overhead stays within the 15% ceiling; and
• a workplan that matches the amount requested.

The grant guidelines advise applicants to use realistic EUR estimates and value for money. Additional financial or in-kind contributions from applicants, partners, donors, or sponsors are encouraged even though the Fund may cover the full eligible project budget. That encouragement is not a reason to inflate the proposal; it is a reason to show how the work remains useful and manageable.

Why the seven focus areas matter for your proposal

The program defines seven focus areas. Applications should clearly map deliverables to one area and avoid pretending to spread across all of them.

1) Culture and common identity

Suitable for institutions and initiatives creating joint cultural, audiovisual, literary, or heritage outputs with cross-country relevance. Strong proposals here should identify not only artistic output but measurable civic engagement.

2) Education and capacity building

High-signal for organizations with formal education partners, student mobility design, joint training modules, curriculum co-development, or educator exchange.

3) Innovation, R&D, and entrepreneurship

Good fit for practical SME or research-support initiatives that can show concrete outputs and cross-region knowledge transfer.

4) Democratic values and the media

Suitable for projects improving media literacy, transparency, investigative journalism support, anti-corruption tools, civic awareness, or anti-disinformation capacities.

5) Public policy and institutional partnership

For collaborations between policy teams, research institutions, and public actors that can generate practical policy-relevant outputs.

6) Regional development, environment, and tourism

a) Climate-adaptation communication, b) local tourism models, c) infrastructure planning collaboration, d) regional urban, rural, or agricultural improvement projects.

7) Social development

Relevant for programmes that address inclusion, social care innovation, intergenerational dialogue, minority inclusion, or addiction and public health awareness.

In every area, your proposal should not rely on generic outcomes. The call rewards coherent activities tied to one area with measurable outputs.

How to apply in the announced round

1. Confirm the consortium and regional purpose

Before the application window opens, prepare a partner matrix with each organisation’s country, legal identity, relevant experience, project role, and expected output. Test the chosen arrangement against the applicable 3xV4 + 1xEaP/WB6, 2xV4 + 2xEaP/WB6, or Ukrainian exception. The official guidance stresses that passive participation in events is not sufficient regional cooperation.

The project should have one clear regional problem and a reason for the partners to act together. If the target-region partner only attends a conference, the concept is unlikely to show the meaningful cooperation the Fund asks for.

2. Choose one focus area and objective

Select one of the seven focus areas and one objective that best matches the project. Then write the project’s outputs in plain terms: a training series, research exchange, policy process, media product, cultural work, local cooperation mechanism, or another defined result. Each output should have a responsible partner, a beneficiary group, and a realistic cost.

3. Read the official materials and prepare the form

The official Visegrad+ page links the current grant guidelines, a screen version, an application-form template, and recommendations for applicants and grantees. Read those materials before drafting. Prepare the applicant information, partner information, project description, implementation period, outputs, budget, and the evidence that partners are committed to the work.

The Fund’s application guidance says proposals are submitted electronically through its online system. It also explains that the unified form moves through applicant, partners, project, and outputs sections. Partner roles should be specific and complementary, and the project title should be concise and related to Visegrad cooperation or Central Europe.

4. Use the consultation option if it will resolve a real question

The Fund offers up to two consultations per project idea through email, phone, or online or in-person meetings by appointment. Use them for a concrete eligibility, consortium, objective, or budget question. The official page says consultations must take place no later than 14 days before the application deadline, so do not leave this request until the final days.

5. Submit through My Visegrad

When the call opens on 1 September 2026, create or access the application in My Visegrad and complete every required section. Review names, countries, partner roles, output figures, dates, and budget totals together. Submit the final proposal by 1 October 2026 at 12:00 PM. The Fund lists 21 December 2026 at 12:00 PM for the results announcement.

The submission deadline is a hard coordination point for the whole consortium. Keep a final internal review before the Fund’s deadline, confirm that the uploaded information matches the narrative, and retain the submitted version for your records.

Materials and readiness checklist

The official page links the grant guidelines and application-form template. Prepare the following before the call opens:

• a consortium table with legal names, countries, roles, and relevant experience;
• a one-paragraph regional problem statement and beneficiary description;
• a chosen focus area and one main objective;
• an 18-month implementation plan with preparation, delivery, and follow-up;
• an output table with responsible partners and measurable deliverables;
• a EUR budget linked to output costs and checked against the 15% overhead limit; and
• a short explanation of why the partnership produces a result that the organisations could not deliver as separate domestic projects.

Do not add documents simply because they are common in other grant programmes. Follow the current form and guidelines. The Fund’s guidance says no application-form printouts or accompanying documents in hard copy are required when submitting the proposal. In exceptional cases, the Fund may request scans of partner letters of intent if a proposal is successful.

The best preparation is internal consistency. The partner section, project narrative, outputs, calendar, and budget should describe the same project. If a partner is responsible for a public event, a research output, or a local implementation task, that responsibility should appear in the workplan and budget rather than only in the partnership paragraph.

Application materials checklist

You should prepare at least these components before the submission window:

• approved consortium list,
• short concept note by focus area,
• draft budget with explicit eligibility rationale for each cost,
• partner tasks and implementation plan,
• communication and dissemination plan,
• impact and risk section tied to your target beneficiaries.

Because the call requires regional impact, include outcome indicators that are visible and relevant to the target communities. For example:

• number of cross-border actions delivered,
• number of beneficiary groups reached,
• evidence that at least one local institution can continue outputs after funding.

Common mistakes that cost teams this call

1) Treating regional partnership as branding

Listing partners without assigning them meaningful work does not demonstrate cooperation. The Fund’s guidance says passive participation in events is not sufficient regional collaboration.

2) Weak fit to a single focus area

The Fund asks applicants to identify one concrete objective. A proposal that tries to be a cultural, media, education, and environment project at once can make its intended result and budget difficult to assess.

3) Underestimating the 18-month limit

The project implementation period cannot exceed 18 months. Phase the work so that preparation, delivery, and follow-up are all possible inside that limit.

4) Filling the plan with more activity than the team can deliver

Do not fill the budget with activities while leaving no time or resources for coordination, evidence of outputs, and reporting. The workplan and budget should be credible as one plan.

5) Treating the overhead cap as a rounding issue

The Fund states that overhead may not exceed 15% of the requested sum. Check the calculation before submission and make sure direct delivery costs, coordination, travel, and other eligible lines are explained rather than hidden in an indirect-cost figure.

Reviewer expectations

The official criteria do not publish a numerical scorecard on the call page, but the requirements make the core tests clear:

• meaningful and active partner cooperation;
• a clear connection to communities in the EaP or Western Balkans;
• one well-chosen focus-area objective;
• a feasible 18-month implementation plan;
• a budget that represents value for money and matches the outputs; and
• outputs that remain useful after the funded activities finish.

The Fund’s wording makes clear that regional presence alone is not the test. The proposal has to explain the added value of cross-border work and show how each organisation contributes to the result.

FAQ for teams preparing for the 2026 round

Can I apply immediately?

Not yet. The official page announces that the application window opens on 1 September 2026. Use the time before then to confirm the consortium, read the linked materials, and prepare the form content.

Is a partner from the target region enough?

No. The Fund expressly says that simply having a partner or applicant from the EaP or WB region does not automatically qualify a project as Visegrad+. The partnership must be active and the project must be implemented in, or strongly impact, the target region.

Are overheads really limited?

The Fund says grants can cover up to 100% of the project budget, while overhead is capped at 15% of the requested sum. The typical grant size shown on the official page is €25,000–€35,000, but the amount in a particular award is not guaranteed.

How should we choose the partner format?

Start with the applicant’s country and then test the consortium against the standard format, the EaP/WB6-applicant option, or the Ukrainian exception. If the numbers work but the partners have no complementary responsibilities, the project still needs redesign.

Can we submit on paper?

No. The Fund’s guidance describes electronic submission through its online application system. Complete the online form and submit by the published deadline; keep a local copy of the final narrative and budget.

Practical preparation plan

Before the opening date, complete these tasks:

1. Confirm the consortium format and document every partner’s responsibility.
2. Choose one focus-area objective and define the regional beneficiaries.
3. Draft an 18-month workplan with outputs, owners, and evidence.
4. Prepare a realistic EUR budget and verify the overhead ceiling.
5. Read the official guidelines and application template linked from the Fund page.
6. Request a consultation early enough to meet the Fund’s 14-day cutoff.
7. Schedule an internal review before the 1 October 2026 noon deadline.

This sequence catches most preventable errors and gives you a proposal that reviewers can assess quickly.

Official links and support points

• Official Visegrad+ Grants call: https://www.visegradfund.org/visegrad-plus-grants-apply
• Partner and application portal: https://my.visegradfund.org
• Grant guidelines and application-form template: linked from the official Visegrad+ Grants page.

Bottom line

The 2026 Visegrad+ round is announced but not yet open at the time of this update. The official dates are 1 September 2026 for opening, 1 October 2026 at noon for submission, and 21 December 2026 at noon for results. The core test is meaningful cooperation: a qualifying V4 and EaP/WB6 structure, one clear focus-area objective, genuine regional benefit, a realistic budget, and delivery within 18 months. Teams that can document those elements should prepare through the official materials and My Visegrad system before the window begins.