The UCPM co-finances projects that support EU Member States and UCPM participating states’ efforts in the field of disaster preparedness and prevention. The Technical Assistance for Disaster Risk Management (Track 1) call for proposals of 2026 is now published. Submission of proposals will be open from 20 January 2026. The deadline for applications is 21 April 2026.
The argument for enhancing the investments in disaster prevention and preparedness has never been clearer. Investing in resilience unlocks social, economic and environmental benefits that outweigh the cost regardless of whether and when a disaster materialises [1]. In addition, when prevention and preparedness investments integrate “smart” features (e.g. early warning systems, nature-based measures to mitigate the impact of heatwaves and floods in urban areas, combined seismic retrofitting and energy efficiency interventions in buildings, etc.) the return on investment is the highest.
Following this logic, the 'Technical assistance for disaster risk management' funding instrument provides financial support (with an EU co-financing rate of 95%) to the national disaster risk management authorities of Member States and other participating states in the UCPM for the development of strategic activities (including feasibility studies, proposals, policies and plans), which can leverage investments for greater disaster risk management impact. It also supports the implementation of the Union disaster resilience goals.
The call is open for applications by national authorities of eligible countries. These authorities must hold competences in civil protection or disaster risk and crisis management. Whenever the applicant is not a national civil protection authority, it is recommended that the application includes references to the relevant legal basis showing the responsibilities of the applicant in the disaster risk management area. This will allow a better understanding of the proposal during the evaluation process.
Eligible countries include:
(* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.)
For more information, refer to Section 6. Eligibility of the UCPM-2025-TRACK1 call document.
More details on the application process are available in Section 5. Admissibility of the UCPM-2026-TRACK1 call document.
Additional guidance is available on how to submit a proposal using the application tool. This video tutorial features the steps to register your organisation and to get prepared for submitting a proposal.
You may also find useful the following documents:
20 January 2026
Publication and opening for submissions on the Funding & tenders portal
Potential applicants are invited to review the call documents. The Funding & tenders portal opens for submissions, applicants have from now until the submission deadline to submit proposals.
12 February 2026
Information day on the UCPM-2026-TRACK 1 call for proposals
DG ECHO presents the UCPM-2026-TRACK 1 call for proposals during a public information session, providing additional context, requirements, as well as other valuable information. Find the agenda and connection details here: https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/events/information-day-2026-calls-track-1-and-taff
21 April 2026, 17:00 CET
Submission deadline
All proposals must be submitted in full on the Funding & tenders portal to be considered admissible for the evaluation process.
April-July 2026
Evaluation phase
Proposals are evaluated and scored in accordance with the relevant award criteria, as outlined in the call document.
July 2026 (tentative)
Invitation of selected project proposals to the grant agreement phase
Projects that have been selected for funding will be notified and invited to sign a Grant Agreement. Projects that have been rejected will also be notified at this stage.
September-November 2026 (tentative)
Grant Agreement preparation phase
The awarded projects will go through the Grant Agreement preparation phase.
January 2027 (tentative)
Launch of implementation phase
Projects selected for funding under this call are expected to start their activities up to four months from the date of the grant signature.
The available call budget is EUR 6 000 000.
The Commission reserves the right not to award all available funds, depending on the proposals received and the results of the evaluation.
Funding from this call can constitute up to 95% of any budget proposal and proposals requesting more than EUR 750 000 as the EU contribution are not admissible.
A Letter of Support from the competent national civil protection authority is needed, except for applicants which themselves are the national civil protection authority. Please see under the supporting documents a Guidance document on seeking endorsement from the national authorities.
In case of doubt on who to contact in your respective national civil protection system to facilitate a letter of support for your project proposal, please consult the information available on the DG ECHO website or contact us at: ECHO-CP-P-P@ec.europa.eu.
Key Performance Indicators
(178.21 KB - PDF)Keywords for KAPP & Track 1 calls and TAFF
(178.76 KB - PDF)Recommendation for minimum project description to be submitted to the national civil protection authority
(131.29 KB - PDF)Letter of support of the competent national civil protection authority/maritime authority
(101.54 KB - PDF)The information provided on UCPKN platform pages is for general informational purposes only. All information on these pages in regards to the UCPM-2026-TRACK1 call is provided in good faith, however we make no representation or warranty of any kind, explicit or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability or completeness of any information on the pages related to the UCPM-2026-TRACK1 call. The official call documents available on the Funding & Tenders Portal page provide all of the official information for potential applicants.