ENCC’s Up Grants are a microgrants scheme that boosts innovative projects, offering them visibility, recognition, and opportunities for development. Up Grants 2026 will explore how socio-cultural centres nurture democracy by promoting participation and stimulating creativity and collective action. Submitted projects will have to focus on one of the following strands:
- Strand 1: Digital ethics and democracy
- Strand 2: Dialogue in times of polarisation
- Strand 3: Participation and cultural resistance
Submitted projects can be either planned or already in progress. They must have clearly defined goals, budget, and stakeholders, and show potential for future development supported by the Up Grants award.
All ENCC members, members of ENCC members, as well as other non-profit or public socio-cultural centres located in countries eligible for Creative Europe funding can participate in Up Grants. The programme aims to support innovative initiatives that show potential for further development (enlarging it, promoting and giving it more visibility, adding new elements, etc.). Each participating organisation is allowed to submit several projects.
Each applicant organisation must meet at least one of the following conditions:
- Being an ENCC member;
- Being a member of an ENCC member (i.e.: members of local, national or regional networks);
- Being a non-profit or public socio-cultural organisation located in a country eligible for Creative Europe funding
The winning projects will be determined by a combined evaluation process integrating expert and public voting.
All eligible submissions will be featured on the website and get international visibility. Then, after the public and expert vote have been cast, the three winning projects - one per strand - will be awarded a grant of 4,000 EUR. Representatives from the awarded organisations will be invited to join the ENCC conference in Lisbon in May 2026, with costs covered. Winning projects must be implemented between May and October 2026.
