The New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative has recently significantly intensified its activities. The European Commission and its partners are developing a comprehensive ecosystem of support – from awarding inspiring projects to developing skills to large-scale research and innovation programmes. The latest developments include the announcement of the NEB Prize finalists (including a Czech project) and new calls within the EIT Culture & Creativity and Horizon Europe programmes.
NEB Prizes 2026: a prestigious competition with Czech representation
The New European Bauhaus Prizes is one of the key instruments of the NEB initiative. It rewards projects and concepts that combine sustainability, aesthetics and social inclusion and contribute to the quality of life in European regions. Since 2021, the competition has received more than 5,700 applications and provided financial support in the order of millions of euros.
The structure of the competition for 2026 has changed slightly to better reflect current EU priorities. It now includes four thematic areas:
- circularity, sustainability and innovation
- local democracy and inclusion
- culture, art and heritage as drivers of change
- tools for NEB transformation
The competition is divided into two parts: (i) NEB Champions – implemented projects with demonstrable impact and (ii) NEB Rising Stars – new ideas and concepts from young creators. The final projects of 2026 have already been published (NEB Prize 2026 finalists) and the public can participate in the vote. Link here: Public vote.
Czech project among the finalists
The Czech representation among the finalists in the Strengthening Local Democracy and Inclusion category deserves special attention. It is the Children's Hospice House for Julie, which represents not only an architecturally high-quality building, but above all a sensitively designed environment for the care of seriously ill children and their families. The project fulfills the key principles of NEB:
- emphasis on human dignity and social inclusion
- quality architectural solution
- connection of functionality, aesthetics and social benefit
The project does not only represent an object/construction, but focuses on strengthening the participation of residents, involving communities in decision-making processes and supporting inclusive development at the local level. The project profile is here.
The importance of this project is also confirmed by its successes on the domestic scene. The House for Julie won the Czech Architecture Award 2025 and the Building of the Year 2025 competition. The award in the international NEB competition only confirms its exceptional quality and the fact that the project was able to comprehensively fulfill the principles of the New European Bauhaus. At the same time, it shows that projects capable of standing up to European standards are also being created in the Czech environment.
NEB Academy: new challenges of EIT Culture & Creativity
In addition to the NEB awards, the so-called NEB Academy, which represents an educational and innovative platform for supporting the transformation of society in the spirit of NEB values, is also being significantly strengthened. EIT Culture & Creativity launched two new calls in June 2026 with a total budget of €6 million.
1. NEB Academy | Fashion Shift
The call responds to the high environmental burden of the fashion industry and supports its transformation towards circular models. Objectives:
- development of circular and regenerative fashion solutions
- connecting creativity with market practice
- strengthening the European fashion ecosystem
Parameters: total budget: € 2.5 million; up to € 500,000 per project; approx. 5–6 supported projects; financing up to 100% of costs.
The call is intended for international consortia including, for example, fashion brands, research organizations or the public sector. The deadline for applications is 31 August 2026. More about the call is available here: NEB Academy | Fashion Shift.
2. NEB Academy | Skills Infrastructure
The second call focuses on developing skills for transforming the built environment. Objectives:
- building the infrastructure of lifelong learning
- linking education, practice and the public sector
- development of competences for sustainable construction and planning
Parameters: total budget: € 3.5 million; up to € 600,000 per project; approx. 5–6 supported consortia.
Supported projects are intended to create new educational programs and contribute to solving the lack of skills in the field of sustainable development of cities and regions. The deadline for applications is 31 August 2026. More about the call is available here: NEB Academy | Skills Infrastructure
Horizon Europe: NEB Facility and HORIZON NEB 2026 - 2027 calls
The third key funding pillar is Horizon Europe, specifically the New European Bauhaus Facility (2025-2027). It supports research, innovation and their practical implementation. The NEB Facility is a multi-annual financial mechanism focused on transforming neighbourhoods towards sustainability, inclusion and high-quality design. There are 17 calls open for 2026 with a deadline of September 17 or December 1, 2026.
Thematic focus
Horizon Europe calls focus mainly on:
• linking green transformation, social inclusion and local democracy
• circular and regenerative solutions in the built environment
• new economic and financial models of development
Examples of HORIZON NEB 2027 calls
Further calls are already planned for 2027, giving interested parties enough time to form consortia and prepare projects. Specific calls (so-called topics) address specific territorial development problems. An example is the call Reducing soil sealing through sustainable urban and spatial planning in the New European Bauhaus (HORIZON NEB 2027 02 NEB SOIL 01), which is related to the RIS3 specialization domains Green Technologies and Bioeconomy and Smart Cities.
This call supports:
• reducing soil sealing
• limiting land take
• regenerative urbanism and spatial planning
• enhancing biodiversity, climate resilience and quality of life
Projects that combine nature-based solutions (e.g. green roofs, community gardens), architectural design, participatory approaches and new governance models are supported. Deadline: 15 September 2027; announcement of results: early 2028.
Wider portfolio of calls
The NEB Facility includes a wider package of calls (approx. 11 topics - overview here), which cover:
• social cohesion and community life
• accessible housing
• circular construction
• public space and design
• community entrepreneurship
The total budget of these calls amounts to approximately € 118.5 million.
Details of all calls from the Horizon Europe program can be found on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal
Opportunities for Czech entities
Current developments show that the NEB is gradually becoming a comprehensive framework for supporting innovation:
• NEB Prizes - highlight inspiring projects (including Czech ones),
• EIT calls - support applied research, creative industries and education,
• Horizon Europe - funds large-scale research and demonstration projects.
For Czech entities, this means a wide range of opportunities:
• from smaller innovation projects to large international consortia,
• from creative industries to research, urbanism or education,
• from pilot activities to systemic changes in territorial development.
The connecting idea of all activities remains the emphasis on sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion – values that form the core of the New European Bauhaus and at the same time determine the direction of the future transformation of European regions.
