The Networking Support Scheme (NSS) within ERDERA invites the rare disease and rare cancer community to unite across borders, disciplines and sectors.
Through this constantly open call, ERDERA supports the organisation of transnational networking events that promote knowledge sharing, research uptake and collaborations among clinicians, researchers, and patients/patient advocacy organizations (PAOs).
These events will strengthen new or expanding research networks on rare diseases and rare cancers in general and promote the inclusion of typically underrepresented countries (UCs) in European rare diseases and rare cancers networks in particular.
With funding of up to €30 000 per networking event, the scheme is open from May 2025, offering a flexible framework for building the connections essential to meaningful knowledge sharing in rare disease and rare cancers research.
NSS Eligibility: Who can apply?
The Networking Support Scheme is open to applicants based in most ERDERA participating countries. A complete list of eligible to receive funding countries, including those classified as underrepresented, is available in the Call text (Annex 1) (below).
The scheme encourages a wide range of applicants, including:
To be eligible, applicants must plan a networking event with a clear rare disease or rare cancer research focus and address both aims of the call: promoting knowledge exchange and supporting greater inclusion of underrepresented countries (UCs).
For the purpose of the NSS call the list of UCs is the following: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Türkiye.
Events must include participants from at least three different eligible countries and may be held either in-person or in a hybrid format.
How it works: Continuous open call with fixed collection dates
The NSS is a permanently open call from May 2025 onward until funds are exhausted which is expected in April 2029. Applications can be submitted at any time but are reviewed in six-monthly collection rounds.
At the top of this page, you can see a countdown for the current round and know how much time is left until the closest collection date.
After each collection date, eligible applications are assessed by an independent transnational Networking Evaluation Committee, based on transparent criteria aligned with the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.
Only applications that pass both scientific and ethics evaluations, and for which funding is available, will receive support.
Call documents are available below.
Networking Support Scheme (NSS)
Below you will find key information and documents on ERDERA’s Networking Support Scheme (NSS), which aims to encourage scientific knowledge exchange on rare diseases or rare cancers between clinicians, researchers, research managers and patients in new and in expanding research networks by funding networking events.
The addition of at least one applicant of an Underrepresented Country (UC) in the applying consortium is mandatory.
Furthermore, the involvement of Early Career Researchers, young students, and involvement of patient advocacy organizations is encouraged.
Involving patient advocacy organizations from the very start is highly desirable. Should you need guidance about patient involvement in your networking event, have a look at this guide.
