UICC/KWF/IARC/WCRF/Cancerfonden/Kræftens Bekæmpelse – Implementation Research for Cancer Prevention in Europe

Grant funding to support small multi-national groups of established researchers to develop and implement innovative, evidence-based cancer prevention strategies into European health systems, with at least one investigator based in Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, or the UK.

The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), in partnership with Koning Willem Fonds Kankerbestrijding (KWF – The Dutch Cancer Society), Cancerfonden (the Swedish Cancer Society), and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) launched the ‘Reimagining Cancer Research in Europe Initiative’ in 2022. It provides seed funding for collaborative, cross-border implementation research projects in cancer prevention, with the ambition to support the development of new and innovative implementation strategies to achieve maximum impact, and position them for future European Union (EU) funding opportunities. The initiative is closely aligned with Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the EU Cancer Mission.

Along with Kræftens Bekæmpelse (the Danish Cancer Society), the first call for proposals under the initiative was launched in 2023. In 2025, the initiative has welcomed additional partners, the World Cancer Research Fund International and Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds (World Cancer Research Fund Netherlands).

Jointly, the initiative partners have launched the call for proposals titled ‘Implementation Research for Cancer Prevention in Europe’. The aim of the call is to support the adoption and integration of existing evidence-based interventions for cancer prevention into health system policies and practices in Europe to maximise impact and reduce the burden of cancer. Research into prevention falls into different categories that can be defined as:

• Primary prevention: strategies designed to prevent diseases from occurring in the first place, including interventions such as vaccinations and health education to reduce unhealthy lifestyles and/or exposure to harmful substances.
• Secondary prevention: measures focused on early detection and prompt interventions to prevent disease progression.

In the first call for applications, the majority of grants supported projects in secondary cancer prevention, therefore priority will be given to proposals addressing primary prevention.

Suitable projects must demonstrate the role of the planned research in developing, and tailoring the implementation strategy to the specific context, and should not be simple replications of an implementation strategy from one European country to another. Projects that are exploring innovative implementation strategies that could be game-changing and enable countries to leapfrog progress are particularly welcomed.