The Novo Nordisk Foundation has announced a major expansion of its flagship Challenge Programme, widening access beyond Denmark to include researchers from across the European Schengen area, Ireland, and the UK.

This marks the first time that international researchers will be able to lead collaborations under the prestigious initiative—previously open only to institutions within Denmark.

In a further shift that reflects the Foundation’s increasing focus on global scientific collaboration, the budget for individual grants has been raised significantly. Each grant will now be worth up to DKK 75 million (around €10 million) over a six-year period—an increase of 25% on previous years—bringing the total budget for the 2026 edition of the programme to DKK 600 million (€80 million).

Established in 2014, the Challenge Programme is the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s largest open competition for research funding. It backs high-impact projects addressing some of the world’s most pressing health and environmental challenges, with themes updated annually to reflect shifting scientific priorities.

Announcing the expansion, Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, said: “The Novo Nordisk Foundation is dedicated to help solving some of the major health and planetary challenges facing the world. The expansion of the Challenge Programme outside Denmark demonstrates that we are deepening our commitment to this global mission.”

This growing international scope aligns with the Foundation’s wider strategy of building cross-border scientific alliances and fostering knowledge exchange. The long-term funding model—designed to support deep, focused research over a six-year period—aims to encourage collaboration between academic institutions, often in multi-partner consortiums, across national boundaries.

For the 2026 edition, four new challenge areas have been identified, reflecting an increasing focus on both planetary and human health. These include using biology to support more climate-resilient soil systems; advancing understanding of invasive fungal diseases; modelling complex cardiometabolic conditions; and studying biological systems operating under non-equilibrium conditions—a field critical to understanding dynamic processes in cells and organisms.

Expressions of interest for the 2026 round are due by 8 October 2025, with full proposals shortlisted and assessed through a rigorous peer review process. Successful projects are expected to be announced in May 2026.

To date, the Foundation has awarded nearly DKK 2.8 billion (€375 million) to around 50 projects under the Challenge Programme since its launch. This year’s expansion is a strong signal that the organisation is doubling down on its commitment to fund ambitious, long-term research with real-world impact, not only in Denmark but across Europe.