Cascade Funding Open Calls: Portal Filters and 2026 Dates

By Aoba Works · Published October 21, 2026 · 14 min read

How this guide was made: drafted with AI assistance from the official sources linked below, then passed an automated editorial check before publishing. Our process

• Funding And Tenders Portal
• Horizon Europe

You can find cascade funding open calls on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Open Calls for proposals, go to the Type of grants calls filter and select "Calls for funding in cascade (issued by funded projects)", then remove closed calls (EC IT How To; BAYFOR). The Portal shows the title, opening date and deadline of each call. Grant sizes, eligibility and the application form are only on the website of the project running the call, so plan to open two tabs for every call.

Which option is right for you?

Your starting point depends on how much time you have and whether you want a small, quick sub-grant or a full EU grant.

Why these picks: cascade calls are smaller and simpler, which suits beginners and small budgets. A saved search saves time for anyone checking calls every day. ERC and MSCA follow fixed annual dates, so researchers should plan around those dates and not around cascade rounds.

What Is Cascade Funding and How Does It Differ from Direct EU Grants?

Cascade funding (Financial Support to Third Parties, FSTP) is sub-granting. An EU-funded consortium passes part of its budget to outside organisations through simplified open calls, so you never go through the full Horizon Europe process yourself (BAYFOR).

Here is how the money moves. The Commission funds a project, say a digital innovation hub network or a climate adaptation programme. The grant agreement already includes a budget line for "financial support to third parties". The consortium writes its own call, publishes it, evaluates the applications and signs small agreements with the winners. You deal with the consortium. You don't deal with the Commission.

The official limits

The Horizon Europe rules set a default ceiling. According to the Annotated Grant Agreement (AGA), each recipient can get at most €60,000, unless the action's objective "would otherwise be impossible or overly difficult" to reach. In that case a higher amount must be set out in the call. NCP Flanders notes that higher amounts "appear regularly on the portal". It also notes that Digital Europe cascade grants usually pay 50% of eligible costs, so the recipient covers the other 50%.

For example, Pathways2Resilience is a Mission Adaptation project. In its second call it selected 61 regional sub-grantees, and each received €210,000 for 18 months (January 2026–June 2027). That is well above the €60,000 default, which the AGA's exception allows.

If you later want a direct grant, you will need a PIC. Our guide to EU Funding and Tenders Portal registration: PIC in 6 steps covers that.

Where Do I Find the Live List of Open Cascade Funding Calls on the Portal?

The live list is on the Portal's Calls for proposals search page, filtered by Type of grants calls → "Calls for funding in cascade (issued by funded projects)". Many projects also advertise on their own websites, and no single directory covers everything (NCP Flanders).

Consortia are required to publish their cascade calls on the Portal, under the Horizon Europe General Annexes and Digital Europe call documents (same source). The publishing process explains why the list can lag a little. The project coordinator drafts the call and submits it. The Commission Project Officer gets a notification, previews the call and clicks Publish. Only then does the status change from "Submitted" to "Published" and the call appear in search (EC IT How To).

Steps to reach the list

1. Go to the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and open Search funding & tenders → Calls for proposals.
2. Open All filters (on some screen sizes the filter panel is on the left).
3. Under Type of grants calls, tick Calls for funding in cascade (issued by funded projects) (EC IT How To).
4. Under Status, keep only Open for submission and Forthcoming, so closed calls drop out (BAYFOR recommends removing closed calls).
5. If you only want research-type calls, set Programme to Horizon Europe. Leave it blank to include Digital Europe cascades as well.
6. Open a result. The Portal entry gives you the title, the dates and a link to the project's own call page. Follow that link for the guide for applicants.
7. Copy the browser URL. The Portal stores your filters in the address bar (for example status=31094502 for open calls), so the bookmark reloads the same search.

Common mistakes and fixes

• Searching keywords only. If you type "cascade" into the main search box, you will miss calls that don't use the word. Use the Type of grants calls filter instead.
• Reading only the Portal entry. The Portal listing is a summary. Eligibility, the maximum grant and the evaluation criteria are in the project's guide for applicants, so always download it.
• Missing project-only promotion. Some consortia announce a call on their website or LinkedIn days before the Officer publishes it on the Portal. Once you've found projects in your field, bookmark their "Open call" pages.
• No updates between visits. The Portal offers a "Funding Opportunities RSS feed" (Online Manual). Add it to any RSS reader to see new items without running the search again.

How Do I Filter Open Calls by Deadline and Ticket Size?

Filter the Portal by status, programme and dates, then sort by deadline. You can't filter ticket size on the Portal, so you need a short manual pass through each project's call page.

The Portal's call search offers Status, Type of grants calls, Programme, date filters and a Sort control (Portal Calls for proposals). Grant amount isn't a filter field. The amount is set separately by each consortium, and the AGA only fixes the €60,000 default ceiling (AGA).

A workable routine (about 20 minutes a week)

1. Run your saved cascade search (status Open + Forthcoming).
2. In Sort, choose to sort by deadline, so the calls closing soonest come first.
3. Drop anything closing within 10 days unless you already have a draft ready.
4. Open the remaining calls one by one and record the facts below in a simple spreadsheet.
5. Order the spreadsheet by "max per applicant", then by deadline.

For example, if two calls both close in six weeks, one paying up to €60,000 as a lump sum and the other €100,000 at a 50% rate, the second needs you to fund €100,000 of your own costs to receive the full amount. For a small company with little cash, the first call is often the better choice.

Pitfall: some calls list "total call budget" (say €3 million) very prominently. That figure is the total for all winners, not your ticket. Look for "per third party" or "per applicant".

For direct SME grants with fixed EU deadlines, see EU Funding for SMEs: 7 open 2026 calls and how to qualify.

Is Cascade Open Today? How to Check Current Status Quickly

There is no single call named "Cascade", so "is cascade open today" has no single answer. Each project runs its own calls, and you check that project's call page for its status and exact deadline.

People who search "is cascade open" usually saw the word in a newsletter or on a project page. The quickest check takes three steps:

1. Find the project name. It will be an acronym (for example Pathways2Resilience). If you only know the topic, run the Portal cascade filter with a keyword.
2. Open the project's "Open call" page. Look at the status label and the deadline, including the hour and time zone. That page is the authority. The Portal mirrors it.
3. Check the project on CORDIS. Search the acronym on CORDIS. The project page shows the start and end dates. If the project ends in a few months, no new calls are coming. For example, the Pathways2Resilience CORDIS record (ID 101093942) shows the project details and the funding programme.

If the project site and the Portal disagree, trust the project's guide for applicants and email the call helpdesk listed in it. Portal entries depend on the Officer publishing updates (EC IT How To), so a corrected deadline can take time to show up there.

Is Cascade Still Open or Has It Closed? Tracking Call Timelines

Whether a cascade call is "still open" depends on the round. Projects often run several calls or cut-offs over their lifetime, so a closed round doesn't mean the project has stopped funding.

A cascade project typically opens one, two or more rounds. Pathways2Resilience is a clear example. It allocated €21 million across two funding cycles, and the second open call for regional authorities closed on 20 August 2025 at 12:00 CET (ERRIN; Climate-KIC). Its selected regions run from January 2026 to June 2027, so a region that missed August 2025 should not expect a third P2R round in that cycle.

Common mistakes:

• Relying on an old newsletter. Aggregator posts stay online long after a deadline. Always check the date on the project's own page.
• Assuming the next round copies the last. Budgets, eligible countries and maximum amounts often change between rounds. Re-read the new guide.
• Missing pre-registration. Some calls need an account on the submission platform days before the deadline. Register when the call opens.

What Open EU Funding Calls Exist for Climate Resilience in 2025-2026?

The main 2026 climate resilience deadlines for direct grants passed in September 2026. As of October 2026, what remains is cascade calls from Mission Adaptation projects and calls that open later in the 2026–2027 work programme cycle.

These are the official dates that shaped 2026:

The Cluster 5 work programme has calls closing as late as December 2027 (IUK Business Connect), so open the Cluster 5 and Missions work programme PDFs (Missions WP 2026-2027) and note the 2027 topics now.

To find climate cascade calls that are open today:

1. Run the cascade filter on the Portal and type "climate", "adaptation" or "resilience" in the search box.
2. Open the Mission Adaptation page. Mission projects that support regions often run sub-grant schemes.
3. Check whether CORDIS shows an end date far enough ahead for a new round.

For example, a municipality that missed LIFE in September 2026 could apply for a cascade sub-grant now to build a local adaptation plan. That work makes a stronger LIFE or Mission application in the next cycle.

What ERC and MSCA Open Calls Are Available for Researchers in 2026?

ERC and MSCA have fixed annual deadlines, and they are direct grants, not cascade funding. As of 21 October 2026, the ERC Consolidator Grant 2027 call and the MSCA Doctoral Networks 2026 call are still open.

ERC dates and budgets come from the ERC Work Programme 2027 as summarised by Hezelburcht and UKRO. UKRO notes that the Synergy opening was moved to February 2027. MSCA figures come from the MSCA PF announcement and the Doctoral Networks announcement. The ERC Starting Grant awards up to €1.5 million over five years (ERC).

Eligibility changed for 2027. Starting Grant applicants qualify if they defended their PhD in the ten years before 1 January 2027, and Consolidator applicants five to fifteen years after the PhD. Researchers may hold at most one Starting and one Consolidator Grant in their career (Hezelburcht).

The distinction matters for your search. ERC and MSCA calls never appear under the cascade filter. Search them on the Portal by programme ("Horizon Europe") and call ID instead. If you are writing a collaborative Horizon proposal rather than an ERC one, our Horizon Europe Part B 2026 scoring map shows how evaluators read each section.

Next steps

You can do the core work yourself today in under an hour. If you'd prefer help, free official advisers are available.

DIY actions for today

1. Build and bookmark the Portal search: Calls for proposals → Type of grants calls → Calls for funding in cascade (issued by funded projects) → Status: Open for submission + Forthcoming, sorted by deadline.
2. Start the six-column spreadsheet from the filtering section and fill it for the first five calls that match your sector.
3. If you are a researcher, put 24 November 2026 (MSCA DN) and 12 January 2027 (ERC CoG) in your calendar and check your eligibility window today.

If you'd rather not do it alone

• National Contact Points (NCPs): free, government-funded advisers for Horizon Europe in each country. For example, NCP Flanders publishes FSTP guidance. NCPs suit first-time applicants who want rule checks. They aren't for you if you want someone to write the proposal, because NCPs advise but don't draft. Their capacity is also limited near big deadlines.
• Regional innovation agencies and grants offices. University research offices and regional bodies such as BAYFOR in Bavaria give free advice to eligible organisations. The limitation is that they only serve their own region or institution.
• Private grant consultants: paid, and fee models vary (day rates, fixed fees, success fees). Ask for a written quote and check current terms on the consultant's own page (as of October 2026). Consultants can make sense for an SME applying to several calls at once. For a single €60,000 lump-sum sub-grant, the fee may not be worth it.

Related guides on this site

• EU Funding and Tenders Portal Registration: PIC in 6 Steps
• EU Funding for SMEs: 7 Open 2026 Calls and How to Qualify
• Horizon Europe Proposal Template Part B: 2026 Scoring Map

FAQ

Who is Cascade Capital Funding LLC?

It is a US company name with no link to EU cascade funding. One entity with this name is an Oregon non-profit SBA Certified Development Company that has supported local small businesses since 1983 (SEDCOR directory). A separate entity of the same name appears in California regulatory records (DFPI). Neither handles EU sub-grants.

What is the typical ticket size for a cascade/FSTP sub-grant?

Under Horizon Europe, the default ceiling is €60,000 per third party, and higher amounts are allowed when the call justifies them (AGA). In practice, BAYFOR reports typical ranges of €50,000–€200,000 (BAYFOR). Some calls go higher, like Pathways2Resilience's €210,000.

How many cut-off dates does a typical cascade call have?

There is no fixed number. Each consortium decides in its grant agreement, and many run two or more rounds over the project's life. Pathways2Resilience, for example, ran two funding cycles (ERRIN). Check the project page and its CORDIS end date to see whether more rounds are realistic.

Can non-EU organisations apply to cascade funding open calls?

Sometimes. Each call's guide for applicants defines the eligible countries and entity types, and the rules differ from project to project (BAYFOR). Read the "Eligibility" section before you start writing. If it's unclear, email the call helpdesk.

Sources

• EC IT How To – Cascade Funding Calls / FSTP
• EU Funding & Tenders Portal – Calls for proposals
• Online Manual – Search funding opportunities
• EU Grants Annotated Grant Agreement (AGA) v2.0
• NCP Flanders – FSTP infosheet
• BAYFOR – Cascade Calls in Horizon Europe (news, March 2026)
• BAYFOR – Cascade Calls
• Climate-KIC – Pathways2Resilience second open call
• ERRIN – Pathways2Resilience 2nd Expression of Interest
• CORDIS – Project 101093942
• CINEA – LIFE Calls for proposals 2026
• Zabala – LIFE 2026 call for proposals
• Charles University – Mission Adaptation 2026 calls
• Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 – Missions
• EU Mission: Adaptation to Climate Change
• Innovate UK Business Connect – Cluster 5 2026-27
• ERC Work Programme 2027
• Hezelburcht – ERC Work Programme 2027
• UKRO – ERC 2027 Work Programme
• ERC – Starting Grant
• MSCA – Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 call
• MSCA – Doctoral Networks 2026 call
• SEDCOR – Cascade Capital Funding
• DFPI – Cascade Capital Funding, LLC

Spotted something out of date or wrong? Tell us at shigoto.ai.note@gmail.com. Guides are re-checked against official sources on a rolling schedule.