Finding partners

• Partner Search (menu Funding): https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/partner-search
• Filters: keyword, organisation or person, programme, topic, country, city, organisation type, professional profile, published announcements. Results capped at 10,000; combine filters. Try name and city variants in local languages.
• Organisation profiles show the PIC, programmes and roles, main collaboration partners, past projects and a Contact button.
• On each topic page (Calls for proposals > topic) the section 'Partner search announcements' lists who is looking for or offering expertise for that topic.
• Publish: click +Add on the topic's announcements list, choose 'expertise request' or 'expertise offer', describe in up to 500 characters. Available for open and forthcoming topics.
• Who may publish for an organisation: LEAR, Account Administrator or Self-registrant. Individuals may publish in their own name with a public Person Profile.
• Edit or withdraw under 'Published partner searches'.
• Commission roadmap for 2026-2027 lists 'enhancements on Partner search' and AI-supported search; no shipped change to partner search was found in 2026 release notes.

Sources: IT How To: Find partners (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page; latest attachment approx. 2025-04-03 (accessed 2026-10-14)); EU Funding and Tenders Portal and EU funding & me mobile app (presentation, Tour de Capitales) (M. Saenz Perez-Aradros, European Commission DG RTD (hosted by Slovenian ministry), 2026-05-19); IT How To: Participant Register (release notes) (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, releases 2026.1 (2026-02-04) to 2026.8 (scheduled 2026-10-12))

• Official directory: Funding & Tenders Portal > Guidance & documents (or Support) > Helpdesk & Support > Filter by programme. Currently available for Horizon Europe and Digital Europe.
• Direct link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/ncp
• NCPs are organised by thematic area (e.g. Cluster 2 'Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society', MSCA, ERC, legal and financial issues). Contact the NCP of the relevant cluster.
• Thematic NCP networks run their own partner-search tools; check via the national NCP.

Sources: IT How To: NCP Register (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page; images approx. 2025-12 (accessed 2026-10-14))

• Directory: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/contacts/national-agencies
• Outside EU and associated countries: National Erasmus+ Offices (linked from the same page).
• For higher education, also ask the institution's international office, which holds the inter-institutional agreements.

Sources: Erasmus+ National Agencies (European Commission, Erasmus+ website, last updated 2026-06-19)

• Directory: https://culture.ec.europa.eu/resources/creative-europe-desks
• Ask the desk about partner-search events and national partner lists; services vary by country.
• Previous projects: Creative Europe Project Results platform, referenced in call documents.

Sources: Creative Europe Desks (European Commission, Culture and Creativity website, last updated 2026-08-03)

• Database: https://een.ec.europa.eu/partnering-opportunities
• Searching is open; publishing a profile normally goes through a local EEN partner, free of charge.
• EEN also organises brokerage events, including before Horizon Europe deadlines.

Sources: Enterprise Europe Network: Partnering opportunities (European Commission / EISMEA, Enterprise Europe Network, not retrieved (site blocked automated access, HTTP 403))

• Browse running Actions by title, country and status: https://www.cost.eu/cost-actions/
• Join the Management Committee: contact the COST National Coordinator of your country (up to two representatives per COST Member Country).
• Join a Working Group: contact the Action Chair or national MC members, or apply via the Action's page on the COST website.
• New Actions are proposed through the COST Open Call.

Sources: COST Actions (browse Actions) (COST Association, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); What are COST Actions? (COST Association, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14))

• Doctoral Networks: at least three independent organisations in three different EU Member States or associated countries, at least one in a Member State; organisations from any country can join on top.
• Non-academic organisations are welcome; Industrial Doctorates require at least 50% of time outside academia.
• MSCA guidance points to the Portal partner search; EURAXESS (https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu) lists hosting offers and partnering.
• Contact the MSCA National Contact Point via the NCP directory.

Sources: MSCA Doctoral Networks (European Commission, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions website, last updated 2026-09-29)

• Search: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects
• Search by topic keyword, then contact coordinators of comparable projects.
• Content is provided as submitted by the coordinating beneficiary.

Sources: Erasmus+ Projects (project results database) (European Commission, Erasmus+ website, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14))

• CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu (managed by the Publications Office of the EU).
• Search projects by keyword, then open the participant list to find organisations that ran similar projects.
• Funding & Tenders Portal 'Projects & Results' covers all EU-funded projects; data availability varies per programme.
• A Portal organisation profile lists the organisation's main collaboration partners.

Sources: About CORDIS (Publications Office of the European Union, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); EU Funding and Tenders Portal and EU funding & me mobile app (presentation, Tour de Capitales) (M. Saenz Perez-Aradros, European Commission DG RTD (hosted by Slovenian ministry), 2026-05-19); IT How To: Find partners (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page; latest attachment approx. 2025-04-03 (accessed 2026-10-14))

• keep.eu (run by Interact): about 32,600 projects and 156,000 partnerships since 2000; search by programme, country, region. https://keep.eu
• Interreg Europe project ideas: post an idea, filter by topic, country and status ('Looking for lead partner', 'Looking for partner'); account required. https://www.interregeurope.eu/project-ideas
• Each cross-border or transnational Interreg programme has its own website and joint secretariat; check eligibility of the region first.
• Interreg Europe is mainly for public authorities and bodies governed by public law, plus private non-profit bodies.

Sources: keep.eu: Interreg projects, partners and programmes database (Interact, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); Interreg Europe: Project ideas (Interreg Europe (Joint Secretariat), no date shown on page; listings dated 2025-02-17 to 2026-09-23 (accessed 2026-10-14))

• Become a partner: open year-round; for legally registered organisations (including academic and research institutions); no funding attached. https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/community-core-new-european-bauhaus/partners-and-friends-explained_en
• Community platform: directory of partners searchable by country, field and engagement style; EU Login required.
• NEB Festival and Local Chapters are further networking routes.

Sources: New European Bauhaus: Partners and friends explained (European Commission, New European Bauhaus website, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); New European Bauhaus: Connect to the community platform (European Commission, New European Bauhaus website, not fetched directly; content seen via search snippet)