CEAH Technical assistance call for proposals

CEAH's Technical Assistance (TA) programme will empower 120 citizen energy initiatives across the EU with the hands-on support they need to succeed. Two competitive calls for proposals will remain open for at least one month.  

• The first call opened in December 2025 and will remain open until 23 January 2026.
• The second call is planned for June 2026.  

What type of support is available? 

The TA programme offers five core types of support to address the diverse needs of citizen energy initiatives:  

• Financial advisory support: to provide tailored financial planning, early-stage investment guidance, fundraising strategies, and training to boost financial literacy and confidence.
• Technical support: to help with technical and technology design, regulatory frameworks, digital solutions, and communication strategies to ensure well-rounded project development.
• Legal support: to provide guidance on legal structuring and governance including setting up the right legal form, drafting statutes and defining governance rules, as well as contracting and regulatory compliance.
• Stakeholder engagement support: To support inclusive community involvement through citizen dialogues, behavioural insights, and targeted engagement of vulnerable or underrepresented groups.
• Capacity-building support: To help beneficiaries design, launch, and professionalise citizen energy projects by offering guidance on energy-sharing, consumer protection, support schemes, and long-term skills development. 

All beneficiaries have a chance to participate in a twinning programme, which fosters peer-to-peer learning by linking projects across countries and stages of development. Regular exchange, joint activities, and expert-facilitated discussions will provide beneficiaries with valuable insights from their peers while expanding their European networks.  

For a more detailed overview of the support that is being offered and illustrative examples of technical assistance requests, as well as information on other services provided by CEAH, please refer to the Guidance Note below.

How much support is available?

Selected beneficiaries will be able to receive between 20 and 40 days of expert support according to three different pathways:  

• Intensive pathway: Beneficiaries can receive technical support across up to 4 different support categories through approximately 40 expert days.
• Moderate pathway: Beneficiaries can receive technical support across up to 3 different support categories through approximately 30 expert days.
• Light pathway: Beneficiaries can receive technical support across up to 2 different support categories through approximately 20 expert days.  

Each beneficiary will be matched with the most suitable expert(s) based on their needs, location, and project focus. For the selected beneficiaries under the current call, support will be provided starting in Spring 2026 into early 2027 and will include at least one in-person visit to help deepen understanding and build trust with local stakeholders.  

For more information on the pathways and how support will be delivered in practice, please refer to the Guidance Note below.

Who can apply? 

The CEAH technical assistance programme is designed to support and empower citizen energy initiatives throughout the EU. Different types of organisations and groups can apply, as long as they are involved in eligible activities within a citizen energy project.  

To qualify for support, applicants must:  

• Belong to one of five eligible stakeholder categories described below
• Be implementing, or planning to implement, a citizen energy project—or actively be supporting such projects.
• Be based in an EU Member State.
• Not have already received funding or support for the same aspect of the project for which they are requesting assistance.
• Submit a signed letter of commitment. 

Eligible types of entities and organisations include: 

• Citizen Energy communities or Renewable Energy Communities as well as similar entities
• Groups of citizens
• Small Enterprises
• Small non-governmental or non-profit organisations, including social economy actors
• Local public authorities  

For more information on the eligibility criteria including type of actors, activities, geographical scope and on what is meant by ‘citizen energy projects’, please refer to the Guidance Note below.

How to apply? 

Eligible and interested stakeholders are invited to complete the online form to make your application.  

More information 

For more information about the technical assistance programme offered by CEAH, please refer to the Guidance Note below (available in all 24 official EU languages) which has a comprehensive overview of the support that is on offer, the eligibility and selection criteria, the evaluation process and other services that will be provided to the selected beneficiaries. It also includes an annotated application form and information on how to apply. You may also contact us directly at: ceahtaecorys [dot] com (ceahta[at]ecorys[dot]com) 

If you want to learn more about this call for applications, we invite you to join the following events!

• CEAH conference on 10 December. Find out more.
• National information sessions. Find out more.